SALESMANSHIP 
and  BUSINESS 
EFFICIENCY 


ic/y 


By 

JAMES  SAMUEL  KNOX 

DES  MOINEB,  IOWA 

1912 


COPYRIGHT  1912. 
The  Knox  School  of  Applied  Salesmanship. 

Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London,  England.  Pro- 
tected by  International  Copyright  in  Great  Britain  and  all 
her  Colonies,  and  under  the  provisions  of  the  Berne  Con- 
vention, in  Belgium,  France,  Italy,  Spain,  Switzerland, 
Tunis,  Hayti,  Luxemburg,  Monaca,  Montenegro  and  Norway. 

All  rights  reserved. 

(Printed  in  the  United  States.) 


Contents 


LESSON  I. 
Leadership    9 

LESSON  II. 
Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It  31 

LESSON  HI. 
Efficiency   61 

LESSON  IV. 
The  Value  of  Time 84 

LESSON  V.  . 
Salesmanship  Analysis 87 

LESSON  VI. 
Mental  Analysis  110 

LESSON  VII. 
The  Mental  Law  of  Sale 119 

LESSON  VIII. 

The  Mental  Law  of  Sale  (continued) 160 

LESSON  IX. 
Suggestion  in  Salesmanship  180 

LESSON  X. 
Will  Power  189 

LESSON  XI. 

Human  Nature  .  ...193 


LESSON  XII. 
Salesmanship,  Advertising  and  Oratory  201 

LESSON  XIII. 
Analyzing  a  Retail  Business  206 

LESSON  XIV. 
National  Cash  Register  Selling  Methods  212 


Introduction 


T  IS  nearly  seven  years  since  I  began 
to  teach  Salesmanship,  Business  Man- 
agement, Man  Building  and  Business 
Efficiency  by  the  Class  Method.  Dur- 
ing this  time  I  have  had  Business 
College  students,  University  students. 
Professors  and  all  classes  of  Busi- 
ness Men  and  Salesmen  in  my  classes. 
During  these  years  I  have  learned 
much  from  the  students  as  to  their  own  needs. 

This  book  has  been  prepared  to  fit  the  needs  of 
the  High  School  student,  the  Business  College  and  Uni- 
versity student  and  the  Business  man  who  studies  in 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  or  other  classes.  Written  exercises  have 
been  placed  after  each  lesson.  This  has  been  done  for 
the  special  benefit  of  the  Business  College  student.  It 
will  teach  him  to  be  a  closer  observer,  a  better  thinker, 
besides  greatly  increasing  his  efficiency  as  a  writer. 

With  the  exception  of  lessons  ONE  and  THREE, 
which  are  new,  every  lesson  in  this  book  has  been  taken 
out  of  the  four  volumes  of  our  regular  Salesmanship 
Course.  In  making  this  re-arrangement  I  have  pro- 
fited greatly  from  the  very  helpful  suggestions  which 
have  come  from  the  various  Business  College  men  who 
have  successfully  taught  the  course  in  their  own  schools. 


In  fact,  the  book  has  been  planned  largely  according  to 
their  direction  and  to  suit  their  needs. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  men  whose  sugges- 
tions have  been  helpful  in  preparing  the  book  to  suit 
the  Business  College  need.  Mr.  B.  F.  Williams,  Presi- 
dent Capital  City  Commercial  College,  Des  Moines; 
Mr.  F.  W.  Mosher,  of  the  Mosher-Lampman  College, 
Omaha;  Mr.  Watson,  of  the  Lincoln  Business  College, 
Lincoln,  Nebraska;  Mr.  A.  F.  Gates,  President  of  the 
Waterloo,  Iowa,  Business  College;  Mr.  B.  E.  Ecklund, 
President  of  the  College  of  Commerce,  Waterloo,  Iowa; 
Mr.  0.  C.  Heilman,  President  of  the  Southern  Minne- 
sota Normal;  R.  B.  Millard,  President  of  the  Little 
Falls,  Minnesota,  Business  College,  and  D.  C.  Rugg, 
President  of  the  Minneapolis  Business  College.  I  have 
also  profited  by  many  suggestions  received  from  other 
Business  College  and  University  Professors  who  have 
studied  the  regular  course. 

My  aim  has  been  to  prepare  a  simple,  practical  and 
comprehensive  text-book  covering  the  subjects  of  Sales- 
manship, the  Philosophy  of  Leadership,  Business  Effi- 
ciency, Man-building,  Character  Analysis,  the  Develop- 
ment of  the  Personality,  the  study  of  Human  Nature, 
and  in  fact  the  art  of  Making  Good  in  Life. 

President  0.  C.  Heilman  of  the  Southern  Minne- 
sota Normal  defines  the  purpose  of  the  work  so  clearly 
that  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  his  words.  He  says : 
"The  term  'Salesmanship'  as  here  used  is  not  the 
proper  title  for  this  work,  as  it  is  more  than  that, — 
\t  is  Man-building;  teaching  one  how  to  develop  one's 


talents,  and  how  to  best  use  them;  also  how  to  meet 
people,  and  having  met  them,  how  to  know  and  judge 
them.  In  other  words,  it  is  a  work  that  prepares  a 
man  or  woman  to  really  live." 

J.  8.  KNOX. 


LESSON  I. 


ieabersfytp 

HE  last  ten  years  have  seen  tremendous 
business  changes  in  this  country.  The  next 
ten  years  will  see  a  business  revolution.  Ten 
years  ago  there  was  no  such  thing  as  a  Sci- 
ence of  Business,  a  Science  of  Salesman- 
ship or  a  Science  of  Advertising.  To-day  these  Sciences 
are  recognized  everywhere.  The  student  of  the  present 
and  the  future  must  be  trained  to  meet  the  new 
condition.  This  new  condition  has  been  brought  about 
by  applying  psychology  to  the  problems  of  Business, 
Salesmanship  and  Advertising;  it  has  been  brought 
about  as  a  result  of  intense  competition  and  the  in- 
sistent demand  for  greater  individual  efficiency.  In 
the  past,  business  and  selling  were  conducted  by  guess; 
to-day  we  must  know  the  reason  why.  To  know  the  rea- 
son why  is  to  enormously  increase  individual  efficiency. 
Efficiency  is  the  watchword  of  to-day. 

C[The  problem  of  efficiency  to-day  is  the  problem 
of  getting  the  maximum  of  results  with  the  minimum 
of  effort.  Our  problem  then,  to  begin  with,  is  to  find 
out  how  to  so  train  the  human  mind  as  to  attain  this 
maximum  of  efficiency.  To  do  it  we  must  analyze  the 
causes  of  failure  as  well  as  the  causes  of  success.  To- 
day the  average  man  is  a  failure  when  he  ought  to  be  a 
success.  We  must  discover  the  reason  and  remedy  it. 

[9] 


10  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

C[The  late  Professor  James  of  Harvard,  after  years 
of  investigation,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  average 
man  was  only  using  one-tenth  of  his  brain  power.  To 
think  that  nine-tenths  of  the  average  man's  brain  is  a 
desert  waste,  is  enough  to  arouse  the  slumbering  power 
which  is  lying  like  a  sleeping  giant  only  waiting  to  be 
awakened. 

,C[The  great  American  desert  is  not  located  in  Ida- 
ho, Arizona  or  New  Mexico.  It  is  located  under  the  hat 
of  the  average  man.  The  great  American  desert  is  not  a 
physical  but  a  mental  desert.  One  of  the  aims  of  this 
book  is  to  irrigate  this  mental  desert  waste  with  the 
waters  of  a  practical  and  progressive  education  which 
will  enable  it  to  blossom  into  a  rich,  luxuriant  harvest. 

C[The  average  man  to-day  may  well  be  called  a 
failure  because  he  earns  little.  Eighty-five  per  cent,  of 
the  men  of  this  country  earn  $15.00  a  week  or  less. 
Only  seven  and  a  half  per  cent,  earn  between  $1,800.00 
and  $3,000  a  year.  The  question  arises;  why  do  they 
not  earn  more?  The  answer  is  simple.  They  do  not 
know  how  to  think.  They  have  never  learned  how  to 
use  their  minds  to  anything  like  a  maximum  of  their 
possibilities. 

C[ Never  in  the  history  of  the  world  has  there  been 
such  a  famine  of  high  priced  men  as  exists  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  Hugh  Chalmers,  President  of  the  Chalmers 
Motor  Company,  the  man  who  was  a  stenographer  in 
the  National  Cash  Kegister  factory  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen and  Vice-President  and  General  Manager  of  the 
company  at  twenty-eight,  at  a  salary  of  $50,000.00  a 
year,  says:  "Five  great  M's  go  to  make  up  the  prob- 
lem of  every  business  man  in  this  country  to-day.  They 
are  money,  materials,  machinery,  markets  and  men — 
and  the  biggest  figure  in  the  problem  is  men.  Really 
valuable  men,  high-priced  men,  are  the  hardest  things  to 


Leadership  11 

get  of  all  the  things  we  manufacturers  need.  Men  in  the 
mass  are  the  cheapest  things  in  the  market.  There  are 
too  many  $1,000.00  men  and  too  few  who  are  worth 
$10,000.00  a  year." 

CJWhy  does  this  condition  of  affairs  exist?  It 
exists  for  just  four  reasons.  Here  are  the  reasons. 
Failure  to  think  right,  failure  to  talk  right,  failure  to 
write  right,  and  failure  to  understand  human  nature, 
are  the  four  great  causes  of  failure  in  this  decade.  The 
next  quarter  of  a  century  will  demand  that  a  man  re- 
ceive such  mental  equipment  that  he  will  become  an 
analytical  thinker,  that  he  will  learn  how  to  think  from 
cause  to  effect;  it  will  demand  that  a  man  learn  how  to 
express  himself  intelligently,  fluently  and  vigorously; 
it  will  demand  that  a  man  know  how  to  write  a  business 
getting  letter,  circular  and  advertisement,  and  it  will 
demand  that  a  man  know  the  point  of  view  of  the  man 
he  does  business  with.  In  order  that  we  may  accom- 
plish this  end  we  must  analyze  the  mind  and  find  out 
why  we  fail  and  why  we  succeed.  The  main  reason  why 
the  average  man  fails  to-day  is  because  he  has  never 
learned  how  to  think  analytically,  consequently  he 
guesses. 

CJWe  have  discovered  that  there  are  really  just 
four  things  we  do  in  life.  We  think,  we  remember,  we 
imagine  and  we  act.  To  accomplish  these  four  things 
efficiently,  spells  success. 

CjThe  average  man  thinks  but  very  little  and  when 
he  does  think  the  chances  are  about  ninety  per  cent,  in 
favor  of  his  thinking  wrong.  He  must  learn  to  think 
right  rather  than  wrong,  and  to  do  that  he  must  de- 
velop a  discriminating  judgment.  I  knew  a  retail 
merchant  in  a  town  of  four  hundred  who  bought  twen- 
ty-nine hundred  pounds  of  raisins.  He  did  this  because 
he  thought  wrong.  His  'judgment  was  not  developed. 


12  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

He  put  twenty-seven  hundred  pounds  of  them  down 
cellar  and  they  spoiled.  At  another  time  he  bought 
enough  window  curtains  to  last  the  community  five 
years.  Again  he  thought  wrong  because  his  judgment 
was  not  developed.  At  another  time  he  refused  to  buy 
store  fixtures  which  his  business  demanded.  He 
thought  to  his  disadvantage  again  because  his  judg- 
ment was  at  fault.  His  judgment  worked  against  his 
own  best  interests,  both  when  he  was  buying  and  when 
he  refused  to  buy. 

C[I  know  a  very  able  young  man  who  was  highly 
recommended  and  who  was  about  to  accept  a  very  re- 
sponsible position.  On  his  way  to  the  office  where  he 
expected  to  get  the  position,  he  thought,  but  he  thought 
wrong.  His  judgment  had  not  been  carefully 
trained.  He  went  in  and  met  his  prospective  em- 
ployer. His  looks  and  recommendations  were  of  the 
best,  but  his  prospective  employer  got  a  whiff  of  his 
breath  and  said:  "I  cannot  employ  you."  The 
young  man  said :  ' '  Aren  't  my  recommendations  good  ? ' ' 
He  was  told  they  were,  but  he  was  also  told  that  he 
had  just  visited  a  saloon  and  taken  a  drink  of  whiskey. 
He  was  told  that  under  no  circumstances  would  a 
drinking  man  be  hired  for  that  position.  The  whole 
destiny  of  this  young  man  was  no  doubt  determined 
by  that  one  drink.  He  thought,  but  he  paid  a  big  price 
for  thinking  wrong. 

CjOne  day  a  retail  house  received  a  telephone  call 
from  an  angry  customer.  The  customer  said  he  had 
given  the  salesman  an  order  for  twelve  dollars'  worth 
of  goods  to  be  delivered  at  once,  but  a  week  had  passed 
and  he  had  not  received  the  goods,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  he  was  promised  delivery  the  same  day.  The 
house  immediately  discovered  that  the  order  had  never 
been  sent  in.  The  salesman  was  called  up  over  the  tele- 


Leadership  13 

phone.  He  admitted  he  had  the  order  in  his  pocket  and 
had  spent  the  $12.00  but  expected  to  make  it  good 
in  a  day  or  two.  He  lost  his  position.  He  paid  an 
awful  price  for  thinking  wrong  and  using  poor  judg- 
ment. The  head  of  the  concern  told  him  he  would  have 
been  glad  to  loan  him  the  money  he  needed. 

C[A  big  concern  sent  a  letter  to  four  thousand 
retail  merchants  who  were  worth  from  $10,000.00  to 
$40,000.00  each.  In  that  letter  the  merchant  was  asked 
to  solve  a  simple  problem.  Here  is  the  problem :  ' '  Sup- 
pose you  bought  an  article  for  one  dollar  and  your  cost 
of  handling  that  article  was  twenty-two  per  cent.,  how 
much  would  you  have  to  sell  the  article  for  in  order  to 
make  a  net  profit  of  ten  per  cent.?"  Just  twenty-two 
per  cent,  of  the  replies  were  right.  The  average  busi- 
ness man  doesn't  know  enough  about  bookkeeping  and 
arithmetic  to  enable  him  to  think  right.  An  authority 
states  that,  "Only  about  ten  per  cent,  of  retailers  rated 
at  $5,000.00  or  less  know  how  to  figure  percentages  of 
profit." 

C(I  could  give  you  an  unlimited  number  of  illustra- 
tions of  wrong  thinking  and  untrained  judgment,  but 
these  will  do.  Failure  and  crime  are  due  to  wrong 
thinking  and  poor  judgment.  "Sin  is  misdirected 
energy." 

CJWe  must  learn  to  think  right  first  and  when  we 
think  right,  that  in  itself  will  go  a  long  way  toward 
developing  a  good  memory. 

G[An  idea  which  is  not  clear  to  us  will  not  be  re- 
membered. The  subjective  mind  always  retains  an  im- 
pression once  it  is  photographed  upon  the  negative  sen- 
sitized plate  of  that  mind.  To  have  a  good  memory 
you  must  pay  attention  to  every  new  idea,  name  or 
face ;  you  must  concentrate  your  mind  upon  it  and  then 
associate  the  new  idea,  name  or  face  with  something 
similar  vou  are  familiar  with. 


14  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 


you  get  a  new  idea  and  try  to  think  of 
that  as  a  new  idea  and  separate  fact,  you  must  concen- 
trate your  mind  very  strongly  upon  it,  but  even  then 
you  are  likely  to  absolutely  forget  it,  temporarily  any- 
way, unless  you  associate  it  with  something  you  are 
already  familiar  with.  Take  the  definition  of  Sales- 
manship for  illustration.  "Salesmanship  is  the  man- 
ner, method  and  art  of  most  economically  effecting  the 
exchange  of  an  article  for  money,  to  the  equal  and 
permanent  satisfaction  of  buyer  and  seller."  If  you 
try  to  think  of  this  definition  as  a  whole,  you  may  for- 
get it,  but  if  you  associate  it  with  the  idea  of  mutual 
benefit  which  is  the  central  idea  of  the  definition,  you 
will  have  no  trouble  in  remembering  the  substance,  at 
least,  of  the  definition. 

,C[A  man  stopped  me  on  the  street  one  day  and  told 
me  to  send  a  book  to  a  friend  of  his.  The  name  he  gave 
me  was  familiar  so  I  did  not  need  to  make  note  of  it. 
But  I  asked  him  what  the  initials  were,  with  the  idea  of 
writing  them  down.  He  said  the  initials  were  B.  A. 
I  realized  at  once  that  I  would  have  no  trouble  in  re- 
membering them  because  I  have  a  brother  with  the 
same  initials.  I  met  another  man  whose  name  was 
Peculia.  I  immediately  associated  his  name  and  face 
with  the  word  peculiar.  I  said  to  myself,  "Here  is  a 
man  with  a  peculiar  name  and  peculiar  face.  In 
other  words,  he  is  a  peculiar  man."  I  concentrated  my 
mind  upon  his  face  until  I  got  a  complete  image  of  it. 
Then  I  had  no  trouble  with  either  name  or  face. 

Q[A  friend  of  mine  went  into  a  strange  tailor  shop 
in  Chicago  and  ordered  a  suit.  The  man  who  made 
the  sale  was  a  very  agreeable  and  attentive  little 
man.  My  friend  got  his  suit  and  left  the  city.  Three 
years  later  he  was  in  Chicago  and  decided  to  get  an- 
other suit  at  the  same  place.  He  went  in  and  was  met 
at  the  door  by  the  same  man  who  sold  him  the  suit 


Leadership  15 

three  years  before.  With  a  smile  the  tailor  walked  up 
to  my  friend  and  said:  "Why,  how  do  you  do,  Mr. 
Jones?  I  am  very  glad  to  see  you."  My  friend  said, 
"How  is  it  possible  for  you  to  pick  my  face  out  of  the 
thousands  who  have  been  in  here  since  I  was  here  three 
years  ago,  and  how  is  it  possible  for  you  to  remember  my 
name  and  associate  it  with  my  face?"  The  tailor  said: 
"That  is  a  very  important  part  of  my  business."  It 
was,  and  it  will  be  a  very  important  part  of  the  busi- 
ness of  the  future  for  a  man  not  only  to  remember 
names  and  faces,  but  facts  as  they  relate  to  every  phase 
of  his  business. 

G[To  develop  a  good  memory  is  to  overcome  indif- 
ference, carelessness  and  laxity  and  to  develop  to  a 
large  degree  the  qualities  of  attention,  concentration, 
alertness  and  observation.  It  means  a  big  mental  asset. 

C[We  next  come  to  the  development  of  the  imagi- 
nation. Imagination  is  the  inventive,  creative,  image- 
making  power  of  the  individual.  The  young  man  who 
cannot  look  into  the  future  and  create  for  himself  a 
position  of  importance  will  not  be  likely  to  ever  have 
such  a  position.  The  young  man  who  can  see  himself, 
ten  or  fifteen  years  hence,  the  manager  of  a  great  con- 
cern with  elegant  offices  finished  in  oak  or  mahogany, 
with  beautiful  furniture  and  elegant  rugs,  with  a  lot 
of  clerks  and  stenographers  under  him,  will  some 
day  create  just  such  a  position  for  himself.  This  is  a 
creative  idea,  a  tremendous  spur  to  the  ambition,  a  goal 
to  be  reached ;  such  an  inspiration  thrills  its  owner  and 
develops  within  him  the  conquering  spirit.  It  grips 
him,  it  arouses  him,  it  transforms  him,  it  makes  a  new 
man  out  of  him.  Such  a  man  with  such  a  mission  pays 
no  attention  to  obstacles,  except  to  use  them  as  stepping 
stones  to  help  him  reach  his  goal,  which  is  always  in 
sight. 


16  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

((Here  is  a  simple  contrast  of  the  non-use  and  use 
of  imagination  in  Salesmanship.  It  was  Saturday 
afternoon  and  two  boot-blacks  were  out  shining  shoes, 
the  one  on  the  left  side  of  the  street  and  the  other  on 
the  right.  The  one  on  the  left  side  of  the  street  used 
just  five  words  in  selling  his  shoe  shine.  He  said :  ' '  Get 
your  shoes  shined  here."  The  one  on  the  right  side  of 
the  street  used  just  five  words.  He  said:  "Get  your 
Sunday  shine  here."  But  what  a  difference  in  the  re- 
sults! The  first  boy  thought  only  of  shoes  that  might 
or  might  not  need  to  be  shined.  His  appeal  was  made 
only  to  men's  feet.  But  to-day  we  must  appeal  to  the 
brain  in  order  to  get  results.  The  second  boy  appealed 
to  the  imagination,  rather  than  to  the  man's  shoes. 
' '  Get  your  Sunday  shine  here. ' '  What  train  of  thought 
did  that  start  in  the  mind  of  the  busy  business  man  as 
he  was  hurrying  by?  This  is  the  train  of  thought  it 
suggested.  "To-morrow  is  Sunday.  I  must  go  to 
church  to-morrow,  or  we  are  going  to  have  company  for 
dinner,  or  I  will,  of  course,  have  to  be  dressed  up  to- 
morrow or  I  need  at  least  one  good  shine  a  week  to  keep 
my  shoes  in  good  shape."  These  were  the  ideas  sug- 
gested in  the  minds  of  the  different  business  men  and 
with  this  result:  the  boy  who  knew  how  to  consciously 
or  unconsciously  appeal  to  the  imagination  did  just  dou- 
ble the  business  of  the  boy  who  simply  thought  of  a 
man's  shoes  and  not  of  his  head. 

((But  how  much  does  it  profit  a  man  if  he  knows 
how  to  think,  remember  and  imagine  if  he  doesn't  know 
how  to  use  his  information,  if  he  doesn't  know  how  to 
express  himself,  if  he  doesn't  know  how  to  act? 

((Here  are  some  illustrations  which  make  clear 
what  I  mean  by  action.  A  young  man  came  into  my  office 
one  day  and  said  he  wanted  a  position  as  a  salesman. 
I  asked  him  what  experience  he  had  had  as  a  salesman 
and  he  said:  "I  ain't  had  none."  That  is  action, 


Leadership  17 

negative  and  demoralizing  action  through  expression. 
What  did  I  judge  as  to  his  educational  qualifications? 
I  judged  he  hadn't  any  and  told  him  so.  "But,"  he 
said,  "I  am  a  high  school  graduate."  Then  said  I,  "Why 
do  you  use  the  language  of  the  street?"  He  said  he  did 
it  through  carelessness.  Well,  carelessness  is  our  greatest 
"business  criminal."  According  to  Dun  and  Bradstreet 
sixty  per  cent,  of  all  our  failures  in  this  country  are 
due  to  that  awful  word  carelessness.  We  must  learn 
to  be  accurate  in  our  speech,  in  our  figuring,  in  our 
bookkeeping,  stenography,  etc.  But  first  we  must  be 
accurate  in  our  thinking.  If  we  are  careless  in  thought 
we  are  careless  in  act,  for  as  a  man  thinketh  so  does  he 
act.  Thought  and  action  are  as  closely  connected  as 
cause  and  effect. 

C[  Again.  A  very  competent  young  woman  h:ul 
just  finished  her  bookkeeping  course.  The  president 
of  the  college  took  her  to  the  head  of  a  concern  that 
wanted  a  bookkeeper.  He  said:  "Miss  Jones,  can  you 
do  our  bookkeeping?"  Miss  Jones  said:  "I  don't 
know. ' '  What  is  the  use  in  having  trained  ability  unless 
we  have  learned  how  to  sell  our  services?  This  young 
woman  knew,  but  she  neither  had  confidence  in  herself 
nor  knew  how  to  express  herself  in  such  a  way  as  to 
inspire  confidence  in  her  ability  sufficiently  to  sell  her 
services.  I  have  taught  Salesmanship  to  over  three 
thousand  men  by  the  class  and  personal  method;  I 
have  delivered  lectures  on  Salesmanship  to  all  classes 
of  business  men  and  I  have  found  by  personal  in- 
quiry that  lack  of  confidence  has  been  the  millstone 
around  the  neck  of  nine  people  out  of  every  ten. 

C[The  president  of  another  Business  College  told 
me  that  one  of  his  students,  a  young  woman  who  had 
studied  Salesmanship  in  his  school,  sold  her  services  as 
a  teacher  for  twenty  dollars  a  month  more  than  she 
ever  received  before,  and  that  in  the  face  of  the 


18  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

strongest  kind  of  competition.  So  we  might  as  well 
learn  right  here  at  the  beginning  that  it  is  just  as  neces- 
sary for  us  to  learn  how  to  sell  our  services  as  it  is  for 
us  to  learn  that  the  philosophy  of  Salesmanship  is  the 
philosophy  of  Leadership  and  the  philosophy  of  Leader- 
ship is  the  philosophy  of  Success;  we  should  remem- 
ber also  that  the  ability  to  influence  is  the  secret  of 
success. 

C[No  man  can  take  chances  on  being  a  success  to- 
day without  studying  the  philosophy  of  Leadership  and 
there  is  little  philosophy  of  Leadership  taught  anywhere 
to-day  outside  of  the  philosophy  of  Salesmanship. 
Even  the  colleges  and  universities  are  not,  to  any  great 
extent,  teaching  the  philosophy  of  Leadership.  Leader- 
ship consists  in  the  ability  to  lead  and  control  thought 
and  action.  It  consists  in  the  ability  to  influence  people 
to  think  as  we  think,  feel  as  we  feel  and  act  as  we  would 
like  to  have  them  act.  This  definition  of  Leadership  is 
also  a  definition  of  Salesmanship ;  it  is  broad  enough  to 
apply  to  the  individual  seeking  a  position,  the  man 
selling  goods,  the  lawyer  before  the  jury,  the  governor 
of  a  state  or  the  president  of  the  United  States  seeking 
an  election  or  a  re-election. 

C[The  new  and  inspiring  philosophy  of  to-day  is 
making  it  plain  to  the  human  race  as  never  before  in 
•all  the  history  of  the  world,  that  man  is  not  the  slave  of 
his  environment  and  his  circumstances,  that  he  can  be- 
come master  of  himself  and  his  circumstances;  that  he 
can  control  his  environment  and  not  have  his  environ- 
ment control  him;  that  he  is  master  and  creator  of  his 
own  destiny. 

,QIn  analyzing  the  causes  of  failure,  I  find  that 
they  lead  right  back  to  man's  thinking.  I  find  that  the 
philosophy  of  the  average  man  is  the  philosophy  of 
failure  and  that  is  the  reason  he  is  a  failure.  To  make 
a  success  his  philosophy  must  be  changed,  there  must 


Leadership  19 

be  an  educational  revolution  in  his  life.  Before  I  go 
farther  I  want  to  give  you  my  reason  for  saying  the 
philosophy  of  the  average  man  is  the  philosophy  of 
failure.  The  average  man  thinks  it  isn't  necessary  for 
him  to  develop  the  study  habit;  he  doesn't  realize  that 
knowledge  is  power;  he  doesn't  realize  that  time  is 
money,  in  fact  he  places  no  definite  value  on  time;  he 
doesn't  realize  that  health  is  his  greatest  asset;  he 
doesn't  realize  that  whiskey  and  cigarette  smoke  dimin- 
ish both  health  and  strength;  he  believes  that  success 
is  a  matter  of  luck  rather  than  law;  he  believes  that 
success  is  a  matter  of  pull  rather  than  push,  and  he 
doesn't  realize  that  all  pull  will  ever  do  for  a  man  is 
to  eventually  pull  his  character  down;  he  doesn't  rea- 
lize that  character  is  the  greatest  asset  in  the  business 
world,  that  it  is  the  corner  stone  of  all  success  and  that 
there  can  be  no  lasting  success  without  it.  This  is  his 
philosophy,  or  part  of  it,  and  none  of  it  is  original.  In 
fact  our  average  man  is  not  bothered  with  originality. 
This  philosophy  he  has  absorbed  from  his  environment; 
it  is  the  result  of  the  impressions — the  ideas  which  have 
unconsciously  forced  themselves  into  his  life  through 
daily  contact  with  them.  In  fact  this  is  the  philosophy 
of  the  average  man's  environment.  It  becomes  his 
philosophy  because  he  is  daily  hearing  it.  He  grows 
up  with  it  on  the  street  and  his  only  salvation  is  to 
grow  out  of  it  and  grow  into  the  philosophy  of  success. 
To  do  this  he  must  study  and  absorb  the  philosophy  of 
character  building  and  the  philosophy  of  success. 

C[  Possibly  the  best  article  ever  written  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Character  Building  and  Character  Analysis  was 
written  by  President  Henry  Churchill  King  of  Oberlin. 
The  following  is  a  quotation  from  the  article. 


20  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

Character  Building. 

0(1.  In  the  first  place,  it  seems  to  me,  that  at  the 
lower  moment  when  it  looks  as  if  everything  were  go- 
ing, it  is  well  for  a  man  to  say  to  himself  in  all  serious- 
ness, "everything  is  now  at  stake;  it  is  fight  or  die." 
That  is  the  situation.  A  friend  of  mine,  with  the  marks 
of  a  serious  disease  upon  him,  went  sometime  ago  to  a 
distinguished  specialist  in  that  disease  and  consulted 
him.  The  physician,  after  carefully  going  over  his  case, 
said  to  him : 

({"I  think  the  disease  has  not  gone  so  far  but  that 
if  you  will  vigorously  follow  this  regimen  which  I  pre- 
scribe for  you,  you  can  still  pull  through." 

({My  friend  heard  him  out  as  to  the  regimen  that 
he  proposed  and  said,  "Why,  doctor,  I  would  simply 
die  if  I  had  to  live  under  that  regimen. ' ' 

({The  doctor  somewhat  gruffly  turned  upon  him 
and  said,  "Well,  die  then." 

C£He  had  just  one  chance.  Let  a  man  say  to  him- 
self, in  like  manner,  in  one  of  those  lower  moments 
when  he  is  likely  to  be  engulfed  by  temptation,  "It  is 
fight  or  die." 

C[II.  Moreover,  I  think  a  man  ought  to  ask  himself 
in  these  lower  moments:  "Why  the  lower  moments?" 
And  the  second  suggestion,  therefore,  that  I  have  to 
make  is:  Keep  yourself  persistently  at  your  best.  You 
have  no  right  to  have  these  lower  moments  continually 
breaking  in  upon  your  life.  Just  as  in  health  that  is  the 
secret,  so  here  in  character  it  is  the  secret.  You  are  to 
guard  conditions  and  strive  to  keep  yourself  at  your 
very  best.  Not  tolerable  health,  but  superb  health,  what 
Emerson  called  ' '  plus  health ' '  must  be  the  aim.  I  know 
no  way  in  the  matter  of  bodily  health  except  simply 
to  say  this:  I  will  carefully,  conscientiously  observe 


Leadership  21 

the  conditions  that  will  keep  me  at  my  best.  In  the 
same  way,  no  man  can  be  certain  of  character  who  is 
willing  barely  to  keep  the  breath  of  moral  and  spiritual 
life  in  him,  and  not  aiming  persistently  at  the  very 
best  of  which  he  is  capable,  and  therefore  conscientious- 
ly observing  the  conditions  that  will  keep  him  at  his 
best.  It  is  the  subtle,  gradual  deterioration  which  we 
are  to  fear  as  death. 

G[III.  In  the  third  place,  we  are  to  consider  the 
conditions  bodily,  mental  and  of  association. 

,(£!.  And,  first,  the  bodily  conditions,  I  suppose 
there  is  hardly  a  clearer  lesson  in  all  modern  philosophy 
than  the  unity  of  man — mind  and  body.  You  may  like  it 
or  you  may  not  like  it ;  it  makes  no  difference.  You  are 
not  now  a  disembodied  spirit  whatever  you  may  be 
hereafter;  you  are  in  the  body;  you  have  to  get  on 
with  your  body,  if  you  expect  to  make  such  achievements 
as  you  ought  to  make  in  your  moral  and  spiritual  life. 
And  those  conditions  are  not  far  off.  Let  no  man 
think  that  they  are  unimportant.  The  problem  of  char- 
acter, what  is  it?  The' problem  of  character  is  the 
problem  ultimately  of  self-control.  That  which  dis- 
tinguishes you  from  the  animal  below  you,  and  that 
which  distinguishes  you  as  a  sane  man  from  the  insane 
man,  is  to  no  small  degree  this  power  of  self  control. 
The  animal,  James  says,  has  a  ' '  hairtrigger  constitu- 
tion." What  does  he  mean  by  that?  He  means  simply 
that  the  animal,  having  an  impulse,  must  yield  to  it, 
but  as  a  human  being  you  can  hold  yourself  in  check, 
and  not  yield  to  impulse,  through  attending  to  some 
other  consideration. 

,C£  Self-control,  I  say,  is  the  root  virtue  of  all  vir- 
tues. It  is  the  very  center  of  character.  But  the  center 
of  self-control,  of  course,  is  will.  And  the  center  of 
will,  what  is  that?  Attention.  For  if  this  temptation 


22  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

which  now  besets  you  is  not  to  sweep  you  off  your  feet, 
what  has  got  to  be  done?  You  must  be  able  in  the 
presence  of  the  temptation  to  hold  your  attention  fixed 
upon  those  higher  considerations  that  ought  to  prevail, 
but  seem  now  in  danger  of  not  prevailing;  and  if  you 
can  do  that,  you  are  safe;  and  if  you  cannot  do  it  you 
are  lost. 

C[The  center  of  character  is  self-control.  The  cen- 
ter of  self-control  is  will.  The  center  of  will  is  atten- 
tion. Now  what  has  all  this  to  do  with  the  body?  Just 
this.  The  greatest  cause  of  fatigue  is  attention ;  that  is 
what  tires  more  than  anything  else.  It  takes  nervous 
energy  to  attend ;  and  the  supreme  condition,  therefore, 
of  power  of  attention,  so  far  as  the  body  is  concerned, 
is  surplus  nervous  energy.  That  is  the  whole  prob- 
lem. Character,  self-control,  will,  attention, — it's  su- 
preme physical  condition,  surplus  nervous  energy.  You 
have  no  right  then  as  a  man  who  means  to  fight  an 
honest  fight  to  disregard  the  conditions  through  which 
you  are  to  get  surplus  nervous  energy.  That  means 
that  you  are  going  to  see  to  it  that  you  get  sleep 
enough,  to  see  that  you  get  exercise  enough,  to  see 
that  you  attend  to  all  these  conditions  that  have 
to  do  with  surplus  nervous  energy;  especially  that 
you  will  avoid  every  species  of  excess,  particularly 
emotional  excess;  and  that  you  will  thus  honestly  do 
what  you  can  to  keep  in  yourself  surplus  nervous  en- 
ergy. Then  you  have  a  margin  of  capital,  with  power 
to  attend,  with  power  to  will — therefore  of  self-control. 
The  danger  of  fatigue,  then,  is  manifest.  The  record 
of  Saturday  nights  in  this  world  of  ours  is  a  tragic 
record.  The  problem  of  Saturday  nights  is  already  a 
national  problem  in  Germany  because  that  is  the  time 
when  men  are  run  down,  at  their  worst  physically,  and 
when,  therefore,  they  are  exposed  to  every  temptation. 


Leadership  2& 

;Q[Now,  one  cannot  always  control  the  conditions. 
There  will  be  times  when,  in  spite  of  all  precautions,  a 
man  will  find  himself  necessarily  and  rightly  fatigued. 
Bear  in  mind  that  at  that  time  you  are  to  be  especially 
on  your  guard  against  sudden  onsets  of  temptation. 
There  is  nothing  clearer  in  modern  psychology  than  that 
the  weakest  in  us,  bodily,  mentally,  morally,  tends  to 
come  out  in  these  moments  of  fatigue ;  and,  therefore,  at 
these  moments  we  are  to  guard  ourselves  with  special 
care  against  sudden  temptation.  Sometimes  you  get  up 
in  the  morning  with  a  consciousness  that  you  are  not  at 
your  best,  that  you  are  On  a  low  physical  plane,  that  it 
is  going  to  be  hard  for  you  to  be  what  you  ought  to  be 
that  day.  That  is  the  day  when  you  can  know  you  have 
a  fight  on  hand.  You  may  as  well  prepare  for  it  from 
the  beginning  and  watch  it  to  the  end. 

C£2.  In  the  second  place  there  are  the  mental  con- 
ditions. For  it  is  not  only  true  that  we  are  one,  body 
and  mind,  but  it  is  true  that  this  mind  of  ours  is,  in  a 
wonderful  degree,  one ;  and  the  unity  of  the  mind 
makes  it  imperative  that  there  should  be  nothing  lack- 
ing at  any  single  point.  "We  do  not  know  when  we  are 
sapping  the  foundations.  Let  me  take  simply  two  or 
three  illustrations  of  the  need  of  heeding  the  unity  of 
our  mind,  where  many  might  be  taken. 

G[And  first,  you  cannot  play  with  your  memories 
and  be  what  you  ought  to  be  as  moral  men.  There  are 
men,  for  example,  who  like  so  well  to  tell  a  good  story 
that  it  grows  continually  on  their  hands,  and  they 
simply  get  where  they  can  not  tell  the  truth  if  they 
want  to.  You  know  what  happens  under  such  circum- 
stances. These  men  cannot  trust  their  memory.  Now, 
the  power  of  holding  yourself  in  the  presence  of  temp- 
tation often  depends  upon  this :  that  you  are  able  to  re- 
call vividly  and  with  scrupulous  accuracy  the  exact  re 


24  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

suits  of  your  previous  experience;  and  if  you  have 
played  fast  and  loose  with  your  memory,  it  will  play 
false  in  your  hour  of  peril. 

,C[And  note  this  other  danger — vagueness  of 
thought.  If  you  allow  yourself  to  remain  in  this  condi- 
tion you  are  not  simply  interfering  with  your  intel- 
lectual growth;  you  are  doing  something  to  sap  the 
foundation  of  your  moral  life,  for  the  moral  life  is 
made  up  of  a  series  of  volitions  that  involve  the 
thought;  vague  promises,  vague  aspirations,  do  not  go 
well  with  that  kind  of  direct  definite  willing  that  be- 
longs to  character. 

,C[  Especially  in  this  matter  of  mental  condition,  do 
not  forget  the  necessity  of  power  of  attention,  and  re- 
member that  anything  you  do  at  any  time  really  to 
strengthen  your  power  of  concentrated  attention  is 
so  much  added  to  your  mental  and  moral  capital,  and 
anything  you  do  at  any  time  to  break  down  your  power 
of  attention  is  so  much  further  preparation  for  disaster. 
Every  time  you  hold  yourself  rigorously  to  the  task 
that  is  appointed  to  you  for  the  time,  definitely  attend 
to  it  and  carry  it  through  with  concentrated  attention, 
you  are  adding  to  your  mental  power.  The  human 
spirit  is  not  a  bundle,  but  an  organic  unity,  and  you 
cannot  break  down  the  mental  and  not  affect  the 
moral. 

C£3.  Third,  we  are  to  consider  the  conditions  of 
association.  Here  I  touch  upon  what  is  really  the  su- 
preme condition  of  all  conditions,  and  to  which,  here,  I 
can  only  give  a  word.  We  know  but  one  absolutely  cer- 
tain way  to  make  character,  and  that  is  through  a  sur- 
rendering persistent  association  with  those  who  have 
such  a  character  as  we  seek.  That  is  the  only  way. 

,Q[Let  me  go  on  to  say  in  the  next  place,  remember 
'that  self-control,  which  is  at  the  very  center  of  charac- 


Leadership  25 

ter,  in  spite  of  its  name,  is  always  positive,  never  nega- 
tive. I  think  many  men  have  made  disastrous  mistakes 
at  this  point. 

(£1.  That  means,  first,  on  account  of  your  relation 
to  the  body  that  you  are  to  seek  positive  help  from  the 
body.  I  think  Browning  has  that  in  mind  in  the  Eabbi 
Ben  Ezra  when  he  says: 

"To  men  propose  this  test: 
Thy  body  at  its  best, 
How  far  can  that  project  thy  soul 
On  its  lone  way?" 

C£I  do  not  think  that  that  is  a  skeptical,  cynical 
question,  but  I  think  it  is  a  challenge,  "a  God-like 
challenge  in  the  night  to  our  too  reluctant  wills."  Any 
man  who  means  to  be  the  man  he  can  be  in  character, 
must  say,  "I  am  going  to  get  positive  help  out  of  this 
body  of  mine." 

QAnd  if  that  is  to  be  true,  he  must  make  his  body 
the  best  instrument  that  he  can  make  it  for  the  spirit — 
the  very  best  medium  for  the  spirit  to  work  out  through. 
I  suppose  that  it  ought  to  be  true  that  a  series  of 
photographs  of  a  man  taken  from  year  to  year  through 
his  life  ought  to  show  that  the  spirit  is  increasingly 
dominating  the  body,  and  that  the  light  of  the  spirit, 
yea,  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  is  increasingly  shining  out 
through  the  face,  and  bearing,  and  mien. 

iCCThe  man  who  intends  to  get  the  most  help  from 
his  body,  will,  besides,  make  his  body  the  very  best 
foundation  that  he  knows  how  to  make  it  for  the  varied 
demands  of  life,  broadly  laid,  deeply  laid  and  well 
laid. 

CfHe  will  further  see  to  it  that  his  bodily  exercise 
is  a  direct  aid,  as  it  may  be,  to  intellectual  and  will 
training.  For  all  the  higher  forms  of  bodily  exercise, 
Romanes  tells  us,  are  exercises  even  more  of  the  higher 
brain  center  than  of  the  muscles.  Make  your  body 


26  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

help  your  soul;  make  your  body  project  your  soul  on 
its  lone  way.  One  can  sit  down  passively  before  nature 
and  regard  it  as  a  limitation  if  he  will;  or  he  can  say, 
by  the  study  of  the  laws  of  nature,  ' '  I  will  learn  its  se- 
crets, and  I  will  make  nature  serve  me."  And  one  can 
do  just  that  with  reference  to  his  body. 

,(£2.  Moreover,  if  self-control  is  to  be  positive,  one 
must  remember  that  control  of  the  emotions  is  always 
indirect.  You  can  not  directly  determine  whether  you 
shall  feel  or  not.  Emotion  spontaneously  arises  in  the 
presence  of  its  object.  That  you  cannot  help ;  but  you 
can  direct  your  attention  to  another  object.  The  small 
boy  who  is  looking  through  the  fence  at  a  patch  of 
watermelons  that  is  not  his,  cannot  prevent  his  mouth 
from  watering,  but  he  can  run.  And  you  cannot  keep 
your  emotions  from  arising  in  attention  to  the  exciting 
object,  but  you  can  think  of  something  else.  You  are 
not  clay  in  the  hands  of  your  circumstances.  You  were 
endowed  with  that  which  makes  you  akin  to  God  in  His 
creative  power — a  will.  You  can  use  that  will  in  at- 
tending to  something  other  than  this  object  which  now 
works  upon  your  emotions.  We  are  often  told  to-day 
that  our  environment  makes  us.  That  is  a  dangerous 
half  truth.  The  whole  truth  is  this :  Not  your  environ- 
ment makes  you,  but  that  part  of  your  environment  to 
which  you  attend  makes  you.  The  same  environment 
means  different  things  to  different  men.  "Why?  Be- 
cause different  men  are  attending  to  different  things 
in  it.  Let  ten  men  travel  over  exactly  the  same  route 
to  Europe;  do  they  come  back  with  the  same  things? 
By  no  means.  Each  man  has  seen  and  gotten  what  he 
attended  to. 

(JYou  are,  then,  to  control  your  emotions  indi- 
rectly through  attention  to  some  other  object.  You  may 
also  control  your  emotions  by  acting  in  the  line  of  those 
emotions  that  you  think  you  ought  to  have.  At  a  given 


Leadership  27 

time,  for  example,  a  man  may  be  feeling  far  from  cheer- 
ful and  without  courage.  This  at  least,  he  can  do;  he 
can  take  a  good  long  breath,  and  stiffen  up  his  back- 
bone, and  put  on  the  mien  of  cheer  and  courage,  and  so 
doing,  he  is  far  more  apt  to  become  more  cheerful  and 
courageous.  There  are  two  sorts  of  selves  in  you,  a 
lower  and  a  higher.  You  can  be  true  to  your  higher  self, 
or  you  can  be  true  to  your  lower  self.  But  you  are 
bound  to  be  true  and  loyal  to  your  higher  self,  to  the 
very  highest  vision  that  is  given  you.  And  one  of  the 
sensible,  helpful  ways  to  get  the  emotions  you  think 
you  ought  to  have  is  to  act  in  the  line  of  them.  It  is 
to  no  man's  credit  to  act  as  badly  as  he  feels.  He  is 
rather  bound  often  to  act  much  better  than  he  feels, 
and  so  acting,  he  will  be  helped  to  better  feeling. 

,C[3.  In  the  third  place,  positive  self-control  means 
that  you  are  to  attend,  as  I  have  already  implied,  to 
something  else  than  the  temptation  which  threatens  to 
engulf  you,  to  replace  that  tempting  thought  with 
some  other.  Do  not  merely  fight  a  thought.  You  can 
not  get  rid  of  a  thought — this  envious,  foul,  hateful 
idea  that  is  in  your  mind — by  simply  saying  this,  you 
are  persistently  keeping  it  in  mind,  you  are  thinking 
of  it.  You  can  get  rid  of  it  in  just  one  way :  by  think- 
ing of  something  else.  You  must  take  the  positive  way 
out.  The  law  is  simply  this — it  is  a  very  simple  law: 
You  cannot  have  an  empty  mind,  and  you  cannot  think 
of  two  things  ivith  concentrated  attention  at  the  same 
time.  As  you  try  to  follow  this  suggestion,  it  may  seem 
to  you  that  you  think  of  two  things  at  the  same  time; 
you  are  thinking  first  of  one  thing,  then  of  another — 
letting  the  thought  you  ought  to  hold  be  broken  in  on 
continually  by  the  other  thought.  Only  keep  your  atten- 
tion steadily  fixed  upon  the  consideration  that  ought 
to  hold,  and  it  will  hold  you. 


28  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

(£4.  And  in  the  fourth  place,  positive  self-control 
means  that  we  are  to  heed  that  principle  which  the 
psychologists  call  the  impulsiveness  of  consciousness; 
that  is,  that  every  thought,  by  its  very  presence  in  the 
mind,  tends  to  pass  into  act,  and  will  do  so,  if  it  is  not 
hindered  by  the  presence  of  some  other  thought  leading 
in  some  other  direction.  That  principle  is  of  very  great 
importance  in  all  our  moral  and  spiritual  life.  If  you 
are  sitting  in  the  parlor  of  a  friend,  while  you  are  wait- 
ing for  him,  and  there  is  an  open  letter  on  the  table, 
and  you  are  not  thinking  particularly  of  what  you  are 
doing,  but  have  your  eyes  on  the  letter,  before  you 
know  it  you  will  likely  put  out  your  hand  and  take  it 
up  and  begin  to  read  it,  until  you  recall  yourself  with  a 
start.  The  single  idea,  unchecked  for  the  moment  by  any 
other,  was  present  in  the  mind;  it  passed  into  action 
almost  in  spite  of  you.  The  teaching  of  modern  psy- 
chology, then,  is  that  a  thought  in  your  mind  will  pass 
into  act  unless  checked  by  some  other  thought;  and  for 
our  moral  life  this  is  strenuous  counsel  to  withstand  be- 
ginnings. 

iC[5.  And  positive  self-control  will  mean,  further, 
that  you  are  to  resist  the  evil  with  the  good;  that  you 
are  not  simply  to  stop  doing  bad  things  because  they  are 
bad,  but  you  are  to  get  into  the  attitude  that  Spinoza 
calls  the  attitude  of  freeman  and  have  done  with  the 
bad  because  you  have  something  a  great  deal  better  to 
do.  Change  your  negatives  into  opposite  positives.  I 
have  little  hope  for  a  man  who  goes  through  his  life 
saying,  "What  is  the  harm?"  What  kind  of  attain- 
ment can  a  man  make  in  his  moral  life,  if  his  one  great 
question  is,  "What  is  the  harm?"  and  he  does  not  re- 
place the  question  with  this  other,  "What  is  the  very 
best  thing  that  is  now  open  for  me  ? "  For  next  to  bad, 


Leadership  29 

C£V.  In  the  next  place,  remember  that,  body  and 
mind,  you  are  made  for  action.  The  body,  one  of  our 
psychologists  tells  us,  is  only  a  machine  for  converting 
stimuli,  coming  into  the  brain  by  the  afferent  nerves, 
into  reactions,  going  out  by  the  efferent  nerves.  And 
the  principle  of  the  impulsiveness  of  consciousness 
shows  with  equal  clearness  that  in  mind,  too,  we  are 
made  for  action.  Every  idea  tends  to  pass  into 
action.  We  are  made,  then,  for  action.  This  is  the 
real  justification  of  the  far  slower  methods  of  the 
laboratory  and  seminar  in  modern  education.  One 
must  do,  to  know.  It  is  not  enough  passively  to  re- 
ceive an  idea;  if  it  is  really  to  be  yours,  you  must 
express  it  in  some  way,  you  must  put  it  into  act. 
Your  idea  or  ideal  is  not  fully  yours  until  you 
have  expressed  it.  The  resulting  law  for  character  is 
clear  and  unmistakable.  That  which  is  not  expressed 
dies.  If  you  would  kill  an  idea,  deny  it  absolutely  all 
expression ;  it  will  die.  On  the  other  hand,  if  you  have 
an  idea  that  you  wish  to  live,  to  be  a  reality,  you  must 
express  it.  You  may  not  rest  content  with  fine  thoughts, 
and  fancies  and  sentiments,  and  feelings,  and  aspir- 
ations. If  you  are  not  willing  to  become  mere  senti- 
mentalists, you  must  put  them  into  act.  Some  of  us 
have  been  in  the  habit  of  speaking  of  the  danger  from 
the  theater  and  from  novel  reading  in  arousing  emotions 
and  sentiments  that  we  simply  allow  idly  to  be  dissi- 
pated. We  need  to  remind  ourselves  that  the  same 
law  holds  for  emotion  and  sentiment,  however  aroused, 
whether  by  theater,  or  novel,  or  concert,  or  lecture,  or 
sermon.  If  you  have  been  stirred  to  moral  feelings  in 
any  way,  as  you  prize  your  moral  life,  see  to  it  that 
your  feeling  gets  some  real  and  tangible  expression; 
put  it  into  act. 


30  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 


e  the  best  persistently  a  chance  at  you.  The 
only  effective  road  to  character  we  know  is  through 
personal  association  with  the  best.  Fill  your  time  with 
positive  service.  Do  not  drift.  Have  definite  things  on 
hand  to  do. 


Suggestive  Written  Exercises  and 
Questions 


Write  an  essay  of  one  hundred  words,  showing  why 
some  men  fail  in  business  and  others  succeed. 

The  following  questions  are  suggestive : 

What  has  caused  the  great  business  changes  during 
the  last  decade? 

Why  are  business  men  compelled    to    study    the 

Science  of  Business,  Salesmanship  and  Advertising  to- 
day f 

What  are  the  four  great  causes  of  failure? 

Why  isn't  the  average  man  a  better  thinker? 

How  can  one  learn  to  talk  better? 

Can  a  man  be  a  successful  business  letter  writer  or 
"ad"  writer  without  training  f 

How  can  a  man  train  his  memory  and  his  imagi- 
nation f 

Why  is  the  philosophy  of  the  average  man  the 
philosophy  of  failure  f 

Define  Salesmanship. 

Why  is  man  the  creator  of  his  own  destiny  f 


LESSON  II. 


$crsonalitp  anb 


to  JBefcelop  3t 


"The  greatest  and  most  vital  power  in  influencing 
life  is  personality.  It  is  greater  than  law,  instruction 
or  example"  —  Lyman  Abbott. 

R  a  good  many  years  we  have  heard  the 
subject  of  personality  more  or  less  dis- 
cussed, but  as  far  as  I  know  no  one  has  at- 
tempted to  tell  us  what  personality  really  is. 
Neither  has  any  one  told  us  clearly  how  to 
develop  it.  This,  of  course,  is  hard  to  do  in  the  ab- 
sence of  a  definition;  and  since  there  is  no  definition 
for  personality,  at  least  none  that  is  adequate,  I  shall 
have  to  coin  one.  The  following  definition,  of  course, 
refers  to  a  positive  personality.  Personality  is  that 
magnetic  outward  expression  of  the  inner  life,  which 
radiates  courage,  courtesy  and  kindness.  It  attracts 
people  by  producing  a  pleasing  effect,  and  is  the  pro- 
duct of  the  development  of  the  positive  qualities;  it 
makes  a  man  a  leader  in  the  affairs  of  life  instead  of 
a  follower. 

QThis  definition  will  need  to  be  defined  in  order 
to  give  an  intelligent  conception  of  what  I  mean  by 
the  "Positive  Qualities."  If  it  is  hard  to  give  a  defini- 
tion which  adequately  defines  what  personality  really 
is,  it  is  not  so  hard  to  tell  what  the  qualities  are  which 

[31] 


32  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

are  back  of  personality  and  which  produce  it.  We  can 
very  well  say  that  personality  represents  the  flower 
of  manhood  and  womanhood  in  full  bloom, 

C[I  was  attempting  to  engage  the  services  of  a 
Northwestern  University  student  to  do  soliciting  dur- 
ing his  summer  vacation,  when  he  said  he  did  not 
feel  competent  to  do  it.  I  immediately  referred  to 

his  classmate,  Mr.  L ,  who  made  a  great  success 

the  previous  summer.  He  said:  "Oh,  yes,  that  is  all 

right  for  Mr.  L .  He  has  a  good  personality; 

he  could  succeed  all  right,  but  I  couldn't.  I  have  no 
personality."  I  asked  him  to  tell  me  what  he  really 
meant  by  personality.  I  asked  him  to  define  it.  He 
said  he  did  not  know  exactly,  that  he  could  not  de- 
fine it.  I  could  not  define  it,  either. 

,C[I  began  immediately  to  study  and  experiment 
on  the  subject.  The  next  Sunday  after  the  above  dis- 
cussion I  heard  Dr.  Frank  W.  Gunsaulus  preach.  I 
said  to  myself,  "He  has  a  good  personality."  During 
the  same  week  I  heard  Mr.  Bryan  lecture,  and  I  said, 
"He  has  a  most  striking  personality."  Well,  I  asked 
myself  the  question  again  as  I  looked  at  Mr.  Bryan, 
"What  is  personality?"  And  these  thoughts  came 
to  my  mind:  "He  is  kind,  courageous,  diplomatic, 
aggressive,  honest,  enthusiastic,  and  he  seems  to  possess 
an  unconquerable  will."  I  immediately  got  the  key 
which  offered  the  solution  to  my  perplexing  problem. 
These  qualities  which  I  name  are  positive  qualities. 
Therefore,  personality  is  produced  by  developing  the 
positive  qualities  and  eliminating  the  negative  quali- 
ties. 'Each  positive  quality  has  for  its  opposite  a  neg- 
ative quality,  as  light — darkness;  heat — cold;  good — 
bad;  honesty — dishonesty;  courage — fear,  etc. 

,QHere  is  a  chart  giving  a  list  of  positive  and 
negative  qualities  placed  under  separate  headings.  It 


Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It 


33- 


is  quite  hard  to  designate  some  of  these  qualities  as 
either  mental  or  spiritual;  in  fact,  some  of  them  very 
properly  come  under  both  heads.  The  positive  quali- 
ties here  designated  should  be  carefully  studied  and 
developed,  while  their  opposites,  the  negative  qualitiesr 
should  and  must  be  weeded  out.  They  are  the  mur- 
derous leeches  that  are  sucking  our  very  life  blood, 
and  they  must  be  driven  out  of  our  lives  with  the 
same  vigilance  that  a  foreign  army  is  driven  from  our 
shores.  They  are  our  enemies  and  they  will  grip  us. 
with  the  vengeance  of  a  pestilence. 


Mind. 


Positive  Qualities — 

optimism 

agreeableness 

tact 

kindness 

courtesy 

enthusiasm 

ambition 

courage 

initiative 

the  conquering  spirit 

confidence 

diplomacy 

sincerity 

purpose 

perseverance 

concentration 

knowledge 

work 

patience 

decision 


Negative  Qualities- 
pessimism 
disagreeableness 
indiscretion 
harshness 
discourtesy 
indifference 
satisfaction 
cowardice 
inaction 
aimlessness 
fear 

impudence 
insincerity 
irresolution 
indecision 
vacillation 
ignorance 
laziness 
impatience 
indecision 


34 


Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 


analysis 

confusion 

judgment 

indiscrimination 

originality 

dullness 

thrift,  saving 

extravagance 

reason 

imbecility 

wisdom 

foolishness 

system 

carelessness 

fair  mindedness 

suspicion 

unselfishness 

selfishness 

openmindedness 

egotism 

observation 

heedlessness 

Soul. 

Positive  Qualities  — 

Negative  Qualities  — 

courage 

fear 

desire 

self-satisfaction 

faith 

doubt 

confidence 

instability 

honesty 

dishonesty 

truth 

falsehood 

temperance 

intemperance 

morality 

immorality 

unselfishness 

selfishness 

love 

hate 

patriot 

traitor 

religion 

atheism 

charity 

malice 

joy 

sorrow 

sympathy 

incompassion 

hope 

despair 

beauty 

ugliness 

loyalty 

disloyalty 

intuition 

stupidity 

cheerfulness 

gloominess 

trust 

suspicion 

Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It  35 

Body. 

Positive  Qualities —  Negative  Qualities — 
activity  indolence 

gracefulness  awkwardness 

physical  courage  physical  fear 

health  sickness 

QThe  physical,  mental  and  moral  qualities  in 
man  are  so  closely  related  that  an  injury  to  one  affects 
them  all ;  while  if  one  is  helped,  all  are  in  some  manner 
helped. 

C£Each  normal  individual  when  born  into  the 
world  possesses  these  negative  and  positive  qualities, 
although  dormant,  of  course.  The  battle  for  supremacy 
is  a  battle  between  these  two  forces.  The  negative 
qualities  are  developed  in  accordance  with  a  definite 
and  absolute  law.  Failure  is  the  inevitable  result  of 
their  development.  The  positive  qualities  are  also  de- 
veloped in  accordance  with  a  law  which  is  just  as  def- 
inite and  just  as  absolute.  The  development  of  these 
qualities  means  success  and  a  well-rounded  life.  A 
man  fails  or  succeeds  in  life  as  the  negative  or  posi- 
tive qualities  are  in  the  ascendency.  It  is,  to  begin 
with,  simply  a  matter  of  thinking.  The  Bible  says, 
"As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he."  The 
psychologist  says,  "Every  idea  which  enters  into  the 
mind  immediately  tends  to  express  itself  in  action." 
In  the  beginning,  personality  is  simply  a  matter  of 
choice  and  thinking.  If  a  man  thinks  pessimistic 
thoughts,  nothing  in  the  world  can  keep  him  from  be- 
ing a  pessimist ;  and  the  world  is  not  very  kind  to  pessi- 
mists. If  one  never  permits  pessimism  to  enter  his 
mind,  but  always  thinks  optimistic  thoughts,  no  fate 
can  make  him  anything  but  an  optimist.  If  he  thinks 


36  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

disagreeable  thoughts,  he  will  have  disagreeable  peo- 
ple to  deal  with,  and  he  will  be  disagreeable.  "Cour- 
age is  the  chief  attribute  of  manliness,"  says  Web- 
ster, while  fear  and  other  negative  thoughts  paralyze 
usefulness. 

C£I  state  an  absolute  fact  when  I  say  that  every 
individual  possesses  all  the  positive  qualities,  although 
some  of  them  may  be  in  embryo.  It  is  possible  to  so 
develop  all  these  qualities,  as  to  drive  out  the  negative 
qualities  and  build  up  a  splendid  positive  personality. 

C£This  ought  to  encourage  us  all,  ought  it  not? 
I  believe  it  possible  in  the  course  of  a  few  years'  time 
to  practically  revolutionize  the  whole  personality.  This 
can  be  done  only  by  a  course  of  positive  thinking  and 
acting.  It  takes  will-power,  but  I  believe  will-power, 
is  a  magic  wonder  worker.  As  will-power,  in  my  mind, 
is  the  greatest  word  in  the  English  language,  so  in 
the  human  life,  will-power  is  the  greatest  quality. 
"Will-power  is  the  engineer.  We  sink  or  swim,  survive 
or  perish,  just  in  accordance  with  his  wishes.  Let  us 
remember  that  thoughts  are  powerful.  If  we  put  a 
drop  of  red  or  black  ink  into  a  bottle  of  water,  it 
colors  the  water.  Thought  has  a  transforming  effect 
upon  the  individual.  The  nerves,  brain  cells,  and, 
in  fact,  the  body,  change  and  are  continually  chang- 
ing at  the  dictation  of  thought.  If  you  are  angry,  you 
lose  your  appetite.  You  secrete  a  poison  which  takes 
the  body  several  hours  to  eliminate.  Hate  actually 
kills.  In  their  acute  stages,  love,  fear  and  bad  news 
are  also  paralyzing  to  the  digestion.  The  hair  turns 
gray  in  response  to  thought.  Thought  is  the  most 
powerful  agent  known  to  man.  It  cures  or  it  sickens. 
It  makes  man  a  servant  or  it  makes  him  master. 

iCtlf  you  would  have  a    magnificent    personality 
begin  to  live  the  positive   qualities.     Say,   "I  can,   I 


Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It  37 

will,  and  I  must,"  where  previously  you  said  "I 
can't."  Do  that  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  you  will 
be  doing  things  with  ease  which  it  was  absolutely 
impossible  for  you  to  do  at  the  beginning  of  the  year. 
Kemember  that  as  surely  as  the  sun  shines  you  possess 
these  positive  qualities,  although  they  may  be  covered 
up  and  almost  hidden  by  the  mountains  of  negative 
thoughts  which  have  always  been  permitted  to  have 
the  ascendency.  If  you  have  ever  seen  the  gold  mines 
in  Colorado  or  California  you  will  know  what  I  mean. 
Away  beneath  the  granite  rocks  and  mud  and  gravel, 
the  prospector  finds  the  gold  sparkling  and  brilliant, 
and  only  waiting  for  a  chance  to  glitter  in  the  sun- 
shine. It  was  there  all  the  time,  but  it  was  so  covered 
up  that  it  wasn't  seen.  My  friend,  go  prospecting 
for  the  nuggets  of  gold  which  lie  hidden  in  your  own 
life,  only  waiting  to  be  liberated  from  the  weight  of 
melancholy  boulders  which  have  been  permitted  to 
accumulate.  It  takes  desire,  it  takes  faith,  it  takes 
confidence  to  eliminate  the  debris,  but  it  can  be  done. 
The  word  "impossible"  does  not  belong  to  the  man 
of  positive  personality.  He  has  forced  it,  with  every 
other  negative  quality,  to  leave  for  parts  unknown. 
He  has  eliminated  the  negative  qualities  by  substi- 
tuting the  better  qualities.  The  way  to  banish  the 
negative  qualities  is  not  to  think  of  them  at  all.  Do 
all  your  thinking  about  the  positive  qualities,  and  the 
negative  qualities  will  die  a  natural  death.  I  have 
given  you  the  formula.  I  have  told  you  how  it  is 
done.  The  law  which  leads  to  the  development  of 
personality  is  just  as  sure  and  certain  as  the  law  of 
gravitation. 

QDo  you  want  to  have  this  personality?  If  you 
do,  begin  at  once  to  develop  the  positive  habit.  Notice 
these  two  words,  positive  habit.  When  a  habit  has 


38  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

been  formed  it  is  hard  to  change  it.  Habit  is  to  life 
what  rails  are  to  the  railroad  train.  The  train  runs 
where  it  had  run  before.  Thoughts  become  actions, 
actions  become  habits,  and  habits  grow  into  character 
and  character  is  immortal.  It  is  easy  for  the  honest 
man  to  be  honest.  It  is  easy  for  the  man  who  is 
habitually  truthful  to  tell  the  truth.  It  is  easy  for 
the  man  who  works  hard  to  keep  on  working.  It  is 
easy  for  the  man  who  gets  up  at  six  every  morning 
to  continue  to  get  up  at  that  hour.  It  is  easy  for 
the  moral  man  to  live  a  moral  life.  It  is  easy  for 
the  man  who  thinks  and  studies  to  keep  on  thinking 
and  studying.  These  things  may  all  be  hard  at  first, 
but  when  the  habit  is  formed,  it  is  just  as  hard  to 
do  otherwise.  I  say  begin  now,  to-day,  to  get  the 
habit. 

QLet  me  repeat,  personality  is  the  result  of  right 
thinking.  It  is  not  produced  by  following  the  line 
of  least  resistance.  It  is  produced  by  doing  the  thing 
that  ought  to  be  done  when  it  ought  to  be  done, 
whether  we  like  it  or  not.  Doing  what  most  people 
think  can't  be  done  is  not  only  the  glory  of  living, 
but  is  the  stuff  out  of  which  personality  is  molded. 

C£Do  you  desire  a  forceful,  winning  personality? 
Do  you  wish  to  stand  for  something  positive,  mas- 
terful, God-like?  Do  you  wish  to  make  of  yourself 
everything  which  God  intended  you  should  be?  The 
world  wants  men — great  men,  manly  men,  men  in 
whom  the  fire  of  a  great  life  burns  brightly.  Do  you 
want  to  be  the  champion  of  some  great  cause?  Do 
you  want  to  be  a  George  Washington  or  an  Abraham 
Lincoln  to  your  generation?  If  you  do,  dare  to  de- 
velop your  personality  to  its  highest  efficiency.  The 
great  business  men  of  our  generation,  the  men  who 
have  done  things,  have  been  men  of  vital,  vigorous  and 


Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It  3& 

aggressive  personality.  They  have  been  men  who  pos- 
sessed the  conquering  spirit.  They  had  faith  in  the 
power  of  their  personalities.  They  never  stopped  at  ob- 
stacles. They  wrestled  with  the  lion  of  opposition 
and  forced  a  victory.  They  developed  strong,  cour- 
ageous personalities,  because  they  dared  attempt  to  do 
whatever  they  believed  should  be  done.  Have  you  the 
courage  to  build  such  a  personality?  Most  assuredly 
you  have,  although  you  may  not  believe  it.  You  are 
a  man  made  in  the  image  of  the  Almighty.  You  owe- 
it  to  your  fellows  to  begin  to-day.  It  will  take  time, 
but  you  have  the  time  on  your  hands  anyway.  "When 
nature  wants  a  squash,  it  produces  it  in  a  season. 
When  it  wants  an  oak  it  asks  for  time — it  wants  a 
century.  You  are  not  a  squash,  you  are  an  oak. 

C[In  order  that  we  may  better  understand  just 
how  the  positive  qualities  are  developed  and  under- 
stand the  relation  of  their  development  to  success  in 
salesmanship,  or  business  in  general,  we  must  analyze 
man.  We  must  pick  him  to  pieces,  so  to  speak,  and 
find  out  what  relation  his  mind  bears  to  his  body,  and 
vice  versa.  Man,  we  all  know,  possesses  a  three-fold  na- 
ture which  is  divided  into  the  following  parts:  the 
physical,  the  mental,  and  the  spiritual.  These  three 
natures,  while  separate  in  one  sense,  bear  a 
direct  relation  to  one  another.  Let  us  consider  the 
first,  the  physical  nature.  Of  course,  we  have  nothing 
to  do  here  with  the  different  cells,  tissues,  bones,  etc., 
but  we  are  directly  interested  in  health.  Health  is 
the  basis  of  all  success  in  life,  and  especially  in  sales- 
manship, as  the  salesman  requires  a  tremendous  amount 
of  energy. 

QHealth  is  that  normal  condition  of  the  three- 
fold man  which  enables  the  physical  organs  to  cor- 
rectly perform  their  functions,  and  contribute  to  the 


40  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

highest  development  of  the  positive  qualities,  physical, 
mental  and  moral,     i— ' 

,Q  There  is  such  a  thing  as  physical  health,  men- 
tal health,  and  spiritual  health.  The  salesman  whose 
arguments  are  not  strong,  forceful,  energetic  and 
backed  up  by  a  magnetic,  healthful  body  filled  with 
pure  red  blood,  and  whose  functions  are  performed 
normally,  is  greatly  handicapped. 

C£But  speaking  more  definitely,  what  do  we  mean 
by  "three-fold  man," — by  so  minutely  analyzing  the 
individual?  We  do  it  in  order  that  we  may  the  more 
rationally  and  carefully  study  ourselves.  "We  desire 
to  know  where  our  weak  points  are,  and  how  to  elimi- 
nate them.  We  also  wish  to  know  just  what  our 
strong  points  are,  and  how  to  strengthen  them.  We 
must  admit  we  all  have  our  weak  points  as  well  as 
strong  ones.  The  difference  between  the  successful  and 
unsuccessful  man  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  successful 
man  has  more  of  the  positive  qualities  developed  than 
his  less  fortunate  neighbor.  The  positive  qualities 
are  a  man's  capital,  his  assets.  They  are  salable  in 
any  market  where  brains  are  needed.  The  more  they 
are  developed,  the  higher  the  price  they  command. 

,C[I  have  known  salesmen  who  would  over-eat 
and  over-drink  and  over-sleep,  who  would  hardly  ever 
study  anything  relating  to  their  business.  They  would 
talk  hard  luck,  and  the  blues,  and  poor  territory, 
etc.,  etc.  The  negative  qualities  were  given  the  as- 
cendency so  long  that  positive,  forceful,  energetic  and 
enthusiastic  manhood  was  never  permitted  to  have 
the  ascendency.  We  can  revolutionize  our  lives  and 
if  we  are  ever  going  to  make  the  success  of  which  we 
are  capable,  we  must  begin  work  to-day,  now — to  stamp 
the  negative  qualities  out  of  our  lives  and  develop  the 


Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It  41 

positive  ones.  This  must  be  done  at  any  cost  of  work, 
determination  or  sacrifice.  I  believe  in  elimination  by 
substitution,  I  believe  in  eliminating  the  negative 
qualities  by  substituting  and  using  the  positive  ones. 
I  believe  in  driving  bad  thoughts  out  of  the  mind  by 
immediately  thinking  of  something  good.  "But  what 
has  the  mind  to  do  with  all  this?"  you  ask.  I  spoke 
of  the  mental  nature  and  the  spiritual  nature.  You 
thoroughly  understand  what  I  mean  by  mental  nature, 
but  you  may  not  all  exactly  agree  with  my  third  di- 
vision. So  for  convenience,  I  shall  use  the  psycholo- 
gist's terms,  and  instead  of  spiritual  nature,  I  shall 
use  the  term  subjective  mind. 

(T  The  human  mind  is  divided  into  two  parts  as  fol- 
lows :  the  objective  mind,  and  the  subjective  mind.  The 
objective  mind  is  the  seat  of  reason,  of  judgment,  of 
logical  thinking,  and  of  the  five  senses. 

C[The  subjective  mind  is  the  habitation  of  memory. 
It  is  the  seat  of  the  emotions,  love,  patriotism,  re- 
ligion, and  some  of  the  positive  qualities  which  mean 
most  in  salesmanship  —  qualities  which  a  salesman 
should  thoroughly  understand  and  must  develop.  The 
power  and  secret  of  influencing  are  largely  the  result 
of  the  development  of  these  subjective  positive  quali- 
ties. There  is  a  peculiar  relation  existing  between  these 
dual  minds.  The  objective  mind  makes  suggestions  to 
the  subjective  mind.  The  subjective  mind  accepts  and 
believes  the  suggestions  and  performs  its  functions  ac- 
cordingly. "The  subjective  mind  is  constantly  amen- 
able to  control  by  the  power  of  suggestion,"  says  Dr. 
Hudson. 

C[To  thoroughly  understand  this  law  of  sugges- 
tion in  its  relation  to  business  and  its  power  in  in- 
fluencing people,  is  to  increase  one's  earning  capacity 


42  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

and  ability  by  leaps  and  bounds.  What  do  we  mean 
when  we  say  that  the  subjective  mind  controls  the 
functions  and  sensations  of  the  body?  Scientists  tell 
us  that  anger,  jealousy  or  hatred,  which  are  distinc- 
tive negative  qualities,  secrete  a  poison  in  the  system 
which  it  takes  several  hours  to  eliminate,  besides  leav- 
ing an  indelible  impression  upon  the  individual.  If  you 
are  distressed  you  refuse  to  eat,  you  lose  your  appe- 
tite. If  you  get  bad  news  after  dinner,  your  food  re- 
fuses to  digest.  Your  emotions  are  affected,  your  sub- 
jective mind  has  taken  control  of  your  functions.  Let 
me  say  in  this  connection  that  every  thought  which 
is  permitted  to  find  its  resting  place  in  the  mind,  the 
objective  mind,  is  commjunicated  to  the  subjective 
mind,  and,  as  the  subjective  mind  governs  the  func- 
tions and  sensations  of  the  body,  our  every  thought, 
good  or  bad,  optimistic  or  pessimistic,  is  always  at 
work,  building  up  or  tearing  down  body,  nerve  and 
mind. 

C£ Doesn't  this  law  of  physiological  effect  mean 
everything  to  us?  When  we  get  blue  that  very  fact 
is  communicated  from  our  objective  to  our  subjective 
mind,  and  from  there  to  our  body,  where  it  immediate- 
ly begins  to  secrete  the  poison  which  does  its  deadly 
work  on  our  whole  life.  Didn't  the  ancient  writer 
arrive  at  a  great  scientific  truth  when  he  said,  "As 
a  man  thinketh,  so  is  he?"  In  all  reason,  then,  ought 
we  not  to  begin  to  think  right?  It  follows  that  if 
we  think  right  we  will  act  right  and  our  success  will 
be  assured  providing  we  exercise  our  will  power. 
Knowledge  is  power.  Definite  knowledge  of  yourself 
and  your  business  is  the  central  force  in  the  develop- 
ment of  an  effective  and  powerful  personality.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  many  of  the  other  elements  of  suc- 
cess have  their  rise  in  this  one.  The  salesman  who 


Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It  43 

knows  his  business  from  A  to  Z  is  confident,  coura- 
geous, and  generally  irresistible.  He  not  only  thinks, 
but  he  knows,  that  he  has  something  it  would  pay  the 
customer  to  buy.  He  has  this  knowledge  fortified  by 
a  multitude  of  reasons  which  he  can  talk  fluently, 
logically,  and  with  the  fire  and  enthusiasm  of  a  "nat- 
ural-born orator."  The  consciousness  of  this  knowl- 
edge banishes  hesitation,  gives  him  self-possession,  an 
easy  bearing,  and  a  conquering  spirit.  He  is  satur- 
ated with  conclusive  evidence.  He  has  a  splendid 
story.  He  is  overflowing  with  inspiration  and  enthusi- 
asm because  he  knows  he  can  tell  it  well.  Such  a  man 
with  such  a  personality  can  approach  the  railroad 
magnate  as  easily  as  the  clerk.  It  is  simply  a  matter 
of  choice,  bull-dog  determination,  and  will  power. 

Qlf  I  were  to  ask  a  man  how  old  he  is  he  could 
instantly  tell  me.  If  I  were  to  ask  him  where  he  lives 
he  could  tell  me  that.  If  I  were  to  ask  him  what 
nationality  he  is  he  could  inform  me.  If  I  were  to 
ask  him  what  his  business  is  he  could  tell  me  that. 
But  if  I  were  to  ask  him  to  write  out  an  analysis 
of  his  own  self,  tell  me  about  his  own  personality, 
describe  his  mind  and  soul  faculties,  I  would  cer- 
tainly not  get  a  very  satisfactory  answer. 

QThe  thing  men  know  least  about  in  this  world 
is  their  own  individual  selves,  and  that  is  what  they 
should  know  most  about.  The  average  man  hasn't  con- 
fidence in  himself  because  he  isn't  acquainted  with 
himself.  He  has  never  analyzed  himself.  He  knows 
practically  nothing  about  his  own  capacity,  about  his 
own  mental  and  spiritual  faculties. 

QMen  have  learned  to  use  the  microscope  to 
study  plant  and  insect  life.  They  have  learned  to 
use  the  telescope  to  study  the  stars.  Miners  have 


44  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

learned  to  recognize  nuggets  of  gold  in  the  rough. 
Geologists  have  so  studied  the  stones  of  the  earth  that 
they  can  easily  recognize  a  fortune  in  a  few  rough 
looking  uncut  diamonds.  But  scientists  have  not  yet  in- 
vented a  microscope  or  a  telescope  that  will  turn  the 
search-light  upon  their  own  minds  and  search  out 
the  unknown  continent  within. 

C£It  is  amazing  the  amount  of  dormant  power  that 
is  wrapped  up,  unused,  in  the  average  man's  life,  that 
he  knows  nothing  about.  The  greatest  discovery  the 
average  man  makes  is  not  through  the  microscope  or 
the  telescope,  or  in  the  gold  mines  or  the  diamond 
beds,  but  in  himself. 

C£We  are  teaching  Salesmanship  but  that  is  only 
one  phase  of  the  work  we  are  doing.  The  greatest 
work  we  are  doing  is  helping  you  to  discover  yourself. 
We  help  you  to  find  yourself  by  showing  you  how  to 
analyze  yourself,  how  to  discover  your  own  faculties, 
and  then  how  to  develop  them.  Our  aim  is  to  put 
you  on  the  right  track.  Then  progress  is  practically 
assured. 

C£Our  aim  is  to  show  you  that  you  possess  in 
some  measure  both  the  negative  and  positive  quali- 
ties, and  also  show  you  how  the  negative  qualities 
can  and  must  be  eliminated,  and  how  the  positive 
qualities  must  be  developed.  In  this  process  of  de- 
velopment the  life  of  the  individual  is  necessarily 
revolutionized.  Let  me  illustrate.  Water  is  composed 
of  two  different  gases.  It  is  different  from  either  of 
the  gases  but  a  product  of  their  union.  The  chemical 
formula  for  water  is  fizO.  When  two  atoms  of  hy- 
drogen and  one  atom  of  oxygen  are  combined  in  that 
proportion  they  produce  a  third  element,  different  from 
either,  and  which  we  know  as  water. 


Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It  45 

QThe  chemical  name  for  salt  is  Sodium  Chloride. 
It  is  composed  of  two  substances  which  are  radically 
different.  Sodium  is  a  soft  white  substance,  and 
chlorine,  when  separated  from  salt,  is  a  green  colored 
poisonous  gas.  When  these  two  substances  unite  they 
form  an  entirely  different  product.  That  proves  that 
two  substances  may  and  do  chemically  unite  and  pro- 
duce a  third  substance  which  is  not  a  mixture  but  a 
result  of  the  union  of  both. 

QLet  us  leave  chemistry  and  get  back  to  the 
brain.  Scientists  tell  us  there  are  over  two  billion 
brain  cells  and  that  they  are  continually  changing  at 
the  dictation  of  thought.  I  am  not  so  much  inter- 
ested in  the  number  of  brain  cells  as  I  am  in  their 
development,  and  how  they  are  developed.  The  man 
of  two  billion  brain  cells,  well  developed,  is  much  su- 
perior to  the  man  of  three  billion  brain  cells  poorly 
developed.  The  point  I  wish  to  emphasize  here  is  that 
you  have  enough  brain  cells  to  make  you  successful 
if  you  will  only  develop  and  use  them.  -%£* 

QWhen  an  idea  comes  in  contact  with  the  brain 
cells,  we  have  two  substances  which  are  entirely  dif- 
ferent coming  in  contact  with  each  other,  and  what 
do  we  find  as  a  result?  In  chemistry  we  find  a  chemi- 
cal change,  in  man  we  find  a  physical  change.  We 
find  that  the  union  of  the  two  products  produces  a 
third  which  may  be  different  from  either.  We  find, 
in  other  words,  that  if  a  negative  idea  comes  into  the 
human  mind,  the  action  resulting  from  that  negative 
idea  will  be  negative,  and  the  mind  is  to  that  extent 
paralyzed.  Let  me  illustrate.  A  fear  thought  comes 
in  contact  with  a  brain  cell.  The  two  unite.  The  re- 
sult is  inaction  and  the  paralysis  of  initiative.  Had  the 
idea  been  positive  and  the  opposite  of  fear,  the  mind 
would  have  produced  an  immediate  desire  for  action. 


46  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

Initiative  or  action  is  the  result  of  reason,  reason  is 
the  result  of  thinking,  and  thinking  is  the  result  of  an 
idea.  And  let  us  remember  that  whether  negative  or 
positive,  "Every  idea  that  enters  into  the  mind 
immediately  tends  to  express  itself  in  action." 

Qlf  the  thoughts  are  negative  and  along  the 
line  of  dishonesty,  immorality,  fear,  failure,  false- 
hood, etc.,  the  brain  cells  will  inevitably  be  demoral- 
ized into  that  kind  of  action.  But  when  a  positive 
idea  comes  in  contact  with  a  brain  cell  there  is  created 
a  positive  force  that  results  in  positive  actions,  and 
the  individual  becomes  to  that  extent  a  new  individual 
and  possesses  new  power  that  he  knew  nothing  of  be- 
fore. 

C£  Therefore,  if  enough  of  these  positive  ideas  are 
brought  in  contact  with  the  brain  cells,  a  revolution 
is  bound  to  take  place  in  the  human  life,  and  the  in- 
dividual develops  from  a  man  of  mediocrity  to  a  man 
of  great  power.  He  changes  from  a  rollicking,  good- 
for-nothing  Webster  on  the  farm,  to  Webster  the 
statesman,  and  one  of  the  greatest  orators  the  world 
has  ever  known.  But  what  brought  about  this  revo- 
lution? A  certain  kind  of  thinking. 

Qln  this  connection  and  to  emphasize  what  I 
have  said,  I  desire  to  quote  the  following  from  the  pen 
of  Lyman  B.  Sperry,  M.  D.  Dr.  Sperry  has  an  inter- 
national reputation  as  a  writer  and  lecturer.  He  says: 
"Ordinary,  habitual,  unemotional  mental  activities  do 
not  perceptibly  influence  the  action  of  the  organic 
nerves;  but  whenever  mental  activity  arises  to  a 
point  which  produces  unusual  emotion,  then  countless 
vibrations  or  thrills,  which  are  in  effect  definite  mes- 
sages, flash  from  the  cerebrospinal  nerves  over  into 
the  organic  nerves,  and  increase,  diminish,  or  in  some 
way  modify  their  action. 


Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It  47 

Q"A11  forms  of  fear,  and  all  passions  in  which 
fear  is  an  essential  element,  such  as  anxiety,  worry, 
grief,  envy,  jealousy,  anger,  hatred,  revenge,  remorse, 
despondency  and  despair,  are  mental  emotions  of  such 
a  nature  that  their  nerve  vibrations  or  messages,  flow- 
ing over  upon  the  sympathetic  system,  necessarily  de- 
range its  action.  Some  of  the  vital  functions  may  be 
unduly  stimulated  by  certain  emotions,  while  others 
may  be  benumbed,  even  to  the  point  of  paralysis. 

Q" Every  form  of  fear  tends  to  depress  organic 
energy,  derange  the  nutritive  processes,  produce  dis- 
ease and  shorten  life;  hence,  fear  is  the  natural  and 
constant  foe  of  vitality,  health,  longevity  and  efficiency 
of  everyone  who  experiences  it. 

C["This  is  true,  remember,  because  of  the  fact 
that  all  such  emotions  or  passions  produce  discharges 
of  nerve  force,  which  inevitably  interfere  with  the 
normal  workings  of  the  organic  nervous  system — the 
special  machinery  that  directs  the  vital  functions  of 
the  body. 

Q"A11  mental  states  characterized  by  even  a 
slight  degree  of  anxiety,  sorrow  or  regret,  not  only 
naturally  and  inevitably  tend  to  produce  disease,  but 
also  to  prevent  recovery  from  diseased  conditions,  how- 
ever they  may  have  been  produced.  All  anticipated 
harm,  all  trouble,  whether  real  or  imaginary,  and  all 
forms  of  discontent,  inevitably  devitalize  and  derange 
the  organic  processes. 

C["On  the  other  hand,  faith,  by  which  I  mean 
the  Assurance  of  things  hoped  for — trust,  confidence, 
contentment,  peace,  good-will,  loving  kindness,  and  an 
approving  conscience — is  a  constant  friend,  a  healthful 
regulator  and  a  positive  energizer  of  the  organic 
system. 


48  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

C["It  is  a  physiological  law,  as  well  as  a  psycho- 
logical law,  that  all  emotions  akin  to  faith  contribute 
not  only  to  one's  daily  comfort  and  happiness  but  also 
tend  to  establish  habitual  health,  insure  mental  and 
physical  efficiency,  and  promote  longevity.  Hence 
such  Scriptural  declarations  as  'A  merry  heart  doeth 
good  like  a  medicine';  'Godliness,  with  contentment  is 
great  gain';  'Thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole';  etc., 
are  scientifically  sound.'" 

C£I  would  like  to  discuss  every  positive  quality 
in  this  lesson — show  how  it  can  be  developed  and  also 
show  how  its  opposite,  the  negative  quality,  can  be  up- 
rooted and  eliminated.  But  it  would  take  a  book  of 
several  hundred  pages  to  do  all  this.  The  quotation 
from  Dr.  Sperry  shows  you  the  physiological  effect  of 
fear.  Just  realize  that  every  other  negative  quality 
affects  you  similarly.  You  will  notice  also  the  phys- 
iological effect  of  faith,  according  to  Dr.  Sperry. 
Just  realize  that  you  are  affected  in  the  same  way  by 
every  positive  quality.  I  desire  to  further  emphasize 
what  Dr.  Sperry  says  about  fear.  It  robs  us  of  the 
best  there  is  in  life.  It  steals  from  us  so  much  per 
day  or  week  or  month  of  the  earnings  that  rightfully 
belong  to  us.  If  we  submit,  it  will  hold  us  in  poverty, 
misery  and  despair;  it  will  dig  a  bottomless  pit  under 
us  and  equip  it  with  a  suction  pump  that  continually 
pulls  us  down.  Fear  is  the  fatal  bugaboo  of  the  imag- 
ination. But  thank  the  Lord  we  can  drive  it  out  of 
our  lives.  "We  can  release,  and  forever,  its  slimy  hold 
upon  us.  But  it  takes  courage  to  do  it. 

C[  Knowledge  is  the  antidote  for  fear  as  surely 
as  light  is  the  antidote  for  darkness.  Courage  and  self- 
confidence  are  the  results  of  knowledge.  Fear  is  the 
result  of  ignorance.  We  are  afraid  of  the  darken- 
ing shadows  in  a  room,  but  turn  on  the  light  and  fear 


•*    Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It  49" 

vanishes.  Fear,  if  we  will  permit  it,  makes  cowards 
of  us  all.  There  are  multitudes  of  men  who  could  in- 
crease their  earning  capacity,  in  a  better  position,  but 
they  are  afraid  to  try  it.  They  are  afraid  to  leave- 
the  position  they  have,  even  though  it  is  not  worthy 
of  their  best  efforts,  for  fear  they  will  not  get  a  bet- 
ter one.  Isn't  that  so?  Hasn't  it  been  true  in  your- 
own  case  during  some  period  of  your  life?  Stop  and 
think !  Isn  't  it  true  right  now  ?  It  is  fear,  fear,  fear 
all  the  time.  Fear  is  based  upon  ignorance  as  cour- 
age is  based  upon  knowledge.  Eliminate  ignorance  and 
fear  will  vanish.  Acquire  the  right  kind  of  knowl- 
edge, then  courage  and  self-confidence  become  a  pos- 
session. 

C£What  are  you  going  to  do  about  iff  I  know 
what  you  are  going  to  do,  you  are  going  to  summon, 
your  will  power,  throw  off  this  slimy  incubus  and  fight 
life's  battles  like  the  real  man  God  intended  you  to  be. 
The  developed  positive  qualities  will  help  you  do  it. 
They  will  become  a  real  mental  battery  of  invincible^ 
personal  power. 

C[I  am  going  to  indicate  a  Character  Chart.  I  want 
you  to  make  one  for  yourself.  I  want  you  to  check 
up  every  positive  quality  every  day  for  a  month,  then 
keep  it  up  for  a  year.  Find  out  your  weaknesses  and 
eliminate  them. 

C[Let  us  choose  nine  positive  qualities  and  con- 
sider that  they  make  the  following  individual  aver- 
age for  a  month — Optimism  71  per  cent.,  Enthusiasm 
70,  Energy  70,  Honesty  95,  Cheerfulness  85,  Careful- 
ness 80,  Neatness  90,  Initiative  75,  Courage  75. 

C[By  adding  these  percentages  together  and  di- 
viding them  by  nine,  as  we  find  there  are  nine  quali- 
ties, we  find  that  we  get  an  average  of  79  per  cent- 


50  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

That  means  we  were  79  per  cent,  successful  that  month, 
that  we  were  only  79  per  cent,  of  our  maximum  possi- 
bility that  month.  It  means  that  we  were  21  per  cent, 
failure  during  that  month.  It  means  we  were  only  a 
little  more  than  three-fourths  as  successful  as  we  should 
have  been  and  could  have  been.  It  means  we  must  be 
mentally  systematic;  it  means  we  must  check  up  our 
weaknesses,  catalog  them  and  then  kill  them. 

C[We  kill  the  negative  by  practicing  the  positive. 
We  kill  laziness  by  continually  hustling.  We  kill 
cowardice,  by  doing  the  thing  that  needs  to  be  done, 
regardless  of  whether  we  like  it  or  not.  We  kill  dis- 
honesty by  compelling  ourselves  to  be  honest  about 
every  transaction. 

C£  Possibly  you  never  before  realized  it  was  pos- 
sible to  check  up  and  speed  up  your  brain  forces  and 
increase  your  efficiency  and  therefore  your  income,  at 
least  21  per  cent.  Did  you?  You  possibly  did  not 
realize  that  a  study  of  this  science  meant  such  an  analy- 
sis of  your  brain  forces  that  you  could  liberally  check 
up  and  finally  control  them.  This  is  only  a  beginning 
of  what  you  can  do  for  yourself  as  a  result  of  this 
marvelous  study  of  Mental  Science. 

Q  Apply  this  same  process  of  elimination  and 
substitution  to  every  negative  and  positive  quality 
you  possess,  and  you  will  notice  a  marvelous  change  in 
yourself  within  a  very  few  months.  Your  possibilities 
are  really  unlimited. 

QMany  salesmen  get  the  foolish  notion  that  Mon- 
day is  not  a  good  day  for  business,  consequently  they 
use  that  as  an  excuse  to  waste  the  forenoon  around  the 
house  and  the  afternoon  around  the  pool  halls,  or  other 
places.  From  Tuesday  morning  until  Friday  night 
they  waste  enough  odd  hours  to  amount  to  another 


Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It  51 

whole  day.  They  do  not  pretend  to  work  at  all  on 
Saturday.  Half  of  the  week  is  absolutely  lost. 

QLet  us  suppose  a  salesman  is  selling  typewriters 
and  is  working  on  a  salary  of  thirty  dollars  a  week. 
He  works  only  half  of  the  week.  He  therefore  earns 
only  fifteen  dollars  instead  of  thirty.  He  defrauds 
his  employer  out  of  fifteen  dollars. 

QBut  suppose  he  is  working  on  a  commission 
and  his  commission  amounts  to  thirty  dollars  for  half 
a  week's  work.  He  is  satisfied  with  what  he  has  made 
and  justifies  himself  by  feeling  that  he  has  done  bet- 
ter than  a  whole  lot  of  other  salesmen  anyway.  What 
about  him?  He  has  defrauded  himself  out  of  thirty 
dollars  that  he  could  have  earned,  and  possibly  more, 
as  a  man  can  do  more  when  he  is  working  under  a 
full  head  of  steam.  He  has  also  defrauded  his  em- 
ployer out  of  the  profits  he  would  have  made  on  the 
sale  of  the  extra  goods. 

C£My  experience  as  a  salesman  and  as  a  sales-man- 
ager has  convinced  me  that  most  of  the  salesmen  of  the 
country  waste  anywhere  from  one  to  three  days  a 
week.  Such  men  always  wonder  why  they  do  not  get 
along  faster. 

C[A  recent  writer  has  said:  "In  the  soliciting  busi- 
ness the  one  force  or  quality  that  counts  for  more  than 
all  others  in  getting  business  is  personality.  We  do 
not  wish  to  enter  into  a  discussion  of  what  personality 
really  is  or  how  it  is  developed,  but  suffice  it  to  say 
it  is  the  sum-total  of  our  personal  attractions  or  win- 
ning qualities,  but  in  many  of  us  they  have  been  so 
sadly  neglected  that  they  cannot  be  recognized.  You 
cannot  be  a  great  success  as  a  salesman  until  you 
bring  these  winning  qualities  out  where  they  can  be 
seen.  They  vouch  for  your  honesty,  your  sincerity, 


52  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

and  are  a  proof  of  your  interest  in  others.  They  are 
your  letter  of  introduction  and  will  gain  you  admission 
when  everything  else  fails." 

C£A  Avriter  in  "Success"  says:  "A  pleasing  per- 
sonality is  of  untold  value.  It  is  a  perpetual  delight 
and  inspiration  to  everyone  who  comes  in  contact  with 
it.  Such  a  personality  is  capital.  Very  few  people 
ever  come  into  your  home,  or  see  your  stocks,  or  bonds, 
or  lands,  or  interest  in  steamship  lines,  or  corporations, 
but  your  personality  you  carry  everywhere.  It  is  your, 
letter  of  credit.  You  stand  or  fall  by  it." 

C£ Another  recent  writer  has  said:  "A  man's  per- 
sonality does  not  come  by  accident;  it  is  a  natural 
gift,  just  as  his  mind  and  muscle  are  natural  gifts. 
and,  like  them,  it  must  be  cultivated.  Develop  it  by 
eliminating  everything  that  is  bad  and  cultivating 
everything  that  IB  good.  Cut  out  the  blues,  and  worry, 
and  jealousy,  and  envy,  and  all  their  relatives;  they 
are  man's  worst  enemies.  Fill  your  whole  mind  and 
lips  with  energy,  hope,  and  sunshine  and  an  invincible 
determination  to  do  things.  Feel  every  minute  of  the 
day  that  it  is  the  best  day  you  ever  had.  Like  thoughts 
are  always  attracted  to  each  other.  To  think  and  feel 
enthusiasm,  confidence  and  success,  will  develop  in  you 
a  splendid  personality  and  set  in  motion  the  forces 
that  will  bring  prosperity  and  power.  Every  man 
carries  the  price  of  a  splendid,  noble  and  successful 
life  within  himself.  Be  in  dead  earnest  and  your  prize 
can  be  the  world." 

C£But  what  direct  relation  do  these  positive 
qualities  bear  to  salesmanship?  They  bear  the  same 
relation  which  blood  and  nerves  bear  to  the  human 
body.  Let  us  consider  one  of  these  positive  qualities 
which  I  have  named,  viz.:  preparedness.  Around  this 


Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It  53 

quality  adhere  the  principles  which  are  the  very  heart 
and  soul  of  Salesmanship.  In  further  analyzing  the 
word  preparedness,  which  means  the  state  of  being 
prepared,  a  sub-division  is  necessary,  together  with  an 
analytical  outline  showing  how  to  begin  the  preparation, 
QWhen  an  individual  is  prepared,  it  means  these 
three  things  to  him:  Faith,  confidence  and  his  ability 
to  sell  goods.  It  means  confidence  in  himself  and  both 
confidence  and  faith  in  his  business,  together  with  a 
knowledge  of  the  construction  and  selling  qualities  of 
his  goods,  of  which  the  following  is  the  analytical 
outline.  This  outline  is  deemed  broad  enough  to  cover 
almost  any  kind  of  manufactured  product. 

Analysis. 

C£l.  Who  produced  or  manufactured  it? 

(a)  What  was  the  method  of  production? 

(b)  Where  was  it  produced? 

(c)  Of  what  is  it  composed? 

C£2.  How  does  it  compare,  as  to  finish,  material, 
workmanship  and  price,  writh  competitive  articles  put 
out  for  the  same  purpose? 

Q3.  Can  it  be  shown  that  its  value  to  the  pur- 
chaser compares  favorably  with  its  cost? 

C£4.  What  is  its  purpose?  In  other  words,  what 
is  it  good  for? 

CT5.  How  can  it  be  analyzed  in  such  a  way  as  to 
appeal  by  a  logical  process  of  argument  to  the  reason 
and  judgment  of  the  customer?  What  portions  of  it 
can  be  used  to  appeal  to  the  emotional  or  spiritual 
nature  of  the  customer? 

C[6.  To  what  class    of  people  can  it  be  sold? 

Q7.  If  it  can  be  sold  to  several  classes  of  peo- 


54  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

pie,  is  there  a  distinctive  line  of  argument  for  each 
class  ? 

CT  Study  and  apply  analysis  in  order  that  you 
may  be  able  to  analyze  all  kinds  of  goods,  your  com- 
petitor's as  well  as  your  own.  What  appears  to  be 
a  small  point  of  difference  will  often  close  the  sale  if 
the  point  is  shown  to  be  superior.  The  ability  then  to 
so  analyze  two  or  several  propositions,  that  the  point 
of  superiority,  although  small,  is  clearly  brought  out, 
very  often  closes  the  sale. 

C£  Everything  else  being  equal,  a  customer  buys 
where  he  can  buy  cheapest.  Be  sure  to  watch  the 
"Everything  else  being  equal."  People  will  not 
buy  at  a  cheaper  store  if  it  is  dirty,  or  the  service 
poor,  or  the  clerks  incompetent.  They  will  not  buy 
from  a  traveling  salesman  who  is  slouchy  and  poorly 
groomed,  or  discourteous,  or  a  poor  salesman,  if  he 
has  a  good  competitor. 

^Everything  is  not  equal  as  long  as  you  have  a 
better  personality  and  are  a  better  salesman.  A  dol- 
lar a  day  hotel  may  serve  just  as  good  meals  as  the 
$2.00  a  day  house.  In  fact  the  meat  and  groceries 
may  have  been  bought  from  the  same  store,  and  be 
of  the  same  grade,  but  if  the  bill  of  fare  is  fly 
specked,  the  napkins  dirty  and  the  table  cloth  stained 
with  coffee,  the  traveling  public  will  go  to  the  $2.00 
a  day  house,  and  pay  the  difference,  because  it  is  clean. 

C£  Without  this  preparation  failure  would  be  al- 
most sure  and  inevitable.  My  reasons  are  based  upon 
the  following  conclusions:  I  have  hired  hundreds  of 
men  and  trained  or  supervised  the  training  of  thou- 
sands of  college  men  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 
I  picked  the  very  best  class  of  young  men  living  in 


Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It  55 

this  generation.  This  I  proved  by  comparison  with 
other  men  from  other  walks  of  life  whom  I  have 
hired.  Out  of  every  hundred  men  I  hired,  I  feel  safe 
in  saying  that  ninety-five  lacked  confidence  in  them- 
selves to  begin  with  and  said  they  believed  they 
couldn't  do  the  work.  They  would  invariably  say,  "I 
have  never  sold  goods  and  I  don't  believe  I  have  any 
ability  along  that  line.  I'm  afraid  I'd  make  a  failure 
of  it.  I  haven't  much  confidence  in  myself.  I'm. 
afraid  to  try  it. ' ' 

QWhat  is  this  first  step  in  the  development  of 
the  confidence  which  this  man  must  have;  first,  in 
himself,  and  secondly,  in  his  proposition?  He 
knows  absolutely  that  he  cannot  talk  the  goods, 
either  successfully  or  at  all.  He  tries  to  think  what 
he  might  say  or  how  he  might  say  it,  and  his  imagin- 
ation conjures  up  failure  because  he  cannot  yet  see 
through  the  misty  labyrinth  of  argument  which  he 
knows  is  necessary  in  order  to  convince  a  customer 
that  he  ought  to  buy  his  goods.  He  cannot  see  into 
or  through  this  argument  to  begin  with,  because  he 
does  not  know  it  and  hence  he  lacks  confidence.  You 
can  not  convince  a  man  that  cake  is  made  out  of  the 
product  of  wheat  by  showing  him  the  wheat  and  letting 
him  taste  the  cake,  if  this  man  has  never  seen  or 
heard  of  wheat,  flour  and  cake.  He  would  ask  for 
evidence.  He  would  have  to  be  shown. 

<£The  first  thing  for  you  to  do  in  beginning 
this  study,  which  leads  both  to  confidence  in  your 
goods  and  confidence  in  yourself,  is  to  begin  an  analyti- 
cal study  of  your  subject.  The  whole  thing  must  be 
picked  to  pieces  in  the  same  way  a  jeweler  picks  a 
watch  to  pieces,  a  mechanic  a  self-binder,  or  a  gram- 
marian a  sentence.  If  you  are  selling  a  binder  you 


56  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

must  know  what  each  piece  is  composed  of,  why  it  is 
made  so  and  so,  and  why  it  is  made  of  a  certain  kind 
of  iron  or  wood,  and  why  it  is  made  in  just  that 
shape.  You  must  thoroughly  understand  the  construc- 
tion of  your  machine.  You  must  learn  to  think  the 
same  thoughts  which  the  man  had  who  made  it.  If 
you  can  do  that,  if  you  can  find  out  his  reasons  for 
taking  every  step,  you  are  getting  a  basic  knowledge 
which,  after  you  have  learned  how  to  talk  it,  will  fill 
your  heart  with  courage  and  confidence,  and  your 
mouth  with  words  which  are  not  only  the  result  of 
skill  but  which  will  be  skillfully  put.  It  is  a  great  thing 
to  thoroughly  understand  every  point  in  the  talk  or 
argument  you  are  going  to  make,  but  it  is  a  much 
greater  art  to  be  able  to  talk  these  ideas  effectively. 
How  many  times  have  you  seen  a  man  get  up  in  a 
meeting  and  in  a  stammering  way  say,  "I  know  what 
I  want  to  say,  but  I  can't  find  the  words,"  and  then 
sit  down  in  confusion?  I  have  even  known  college 
graduates  to  be  affected  in  this  way. 

C[The  fundamental  principles  of  salesmanship 
are  all  the  same.  A  principle  which  can  be  used  in 
selling  one  article  can  be  used  in  selling  any  other 
article,  no  matter  whether  it  be  real  estate  or  chickens. 
A  friend  of  mine  sold  books  successfully  as  a  student. 
'The  book  had  different  bindings.  He  developed  skill 
in  changing  from  a  higher  to  a  lower,  or  a  lower  to 
a  higher  priced  binding.  Later  he  went  into  the 
horse  business.  He  sold  a  team  one  day.  The  man 
came  back  the  next  day  to  trade  one  of  them  for  an- 
other, which  he  thought  would  make  a  better  matched 
team.  He  traded  and  gave  a  nice  sum  to  boot.  The 
horse  man  turned  to  me  and  said,  "I  did  that  just 
as  easily  as  changing  from  a  two-fifty  to  a  three-fifty 
binding." 


Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It  57 

,C[In  order  to  have  this  confidence  in  yourself 
you  must  have  faith  in  what  you  are  going  to  sell. 
Faith  is  the  essential  condition  of  confidence,  and  con- 
fidence is  the  essential  condition  of  success.  This  is 
not  merely  opinion  or  guess  work,  it  as  a  scientific  fact. 
Faith  is  the  mental  attitude  essential  to  successful 
business- getting.  "Faith  is  the  central  idea  and  es- 
sence of  the  law  of  suggestion."  Without  this  faith, 
without  this  belief  there  would  be  no  basis  for  suggest- 
ing to  the  other  man  that  he  should  make  the  pur- 
chase. "The  prayer  of  faith  shall  be  answered"  has 
a  firm  scientific  basis.  Be  sure  you  have  absolute 
faith  in  the  article  you  are  going  to  sell.  If  you 
have  not  that  faith,  if  you  do  not  think  the  arti- 
cle is  worth  the  money,  your  conscience  will  go  back 
on  you,  and  you  will  most  assuredly  end  in  failure, 
together  with  a  considerable  loss  of  self-respect.  No 
man  can  long  succeed  in  selling  goods  which  he  knows 
are  not  worth  the  money.  His  better  nature  soon  re- 
volts. 

Q  While  there  are  a  great  number  of  positive 
qualities,  they  are  not  all  of  equal  importance  in  the 
development  of  the  salesman.  I  shall  name  here  some 
of  the  positive  qualities  and  faculties  which  it  is  ab- 
solutely essential  a  salesman  should  develop  to  a  high 
degree :  Preparedness,  faith  and  confidence,  the  con- 
quering spirit,  cheerfulness  or  good  cheer,  courtesy, 
initiative,  courage,  perseverance,  determination,  concen- 
tration, will-power,  desire,  health,  character,  judgment 
and  expression. 

C£ America's  great  men  have  been  of  commanding 
personality.  What  were  the  qualities  in  the  life  of 
James  G.  Blaine  which  made  him  great?  What  were 
the  qualities  of  personality  which  made  Grant  and 
Lincoln  and  McKinley  great?  What  are  the  qualities 


58  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

which  make  Roosevelt  great  in  spite  of  his  party  lead- 
ers? What  are  the  qualities  which  have  made  Mr. 
Bryan  the  leader  of  his  party  for  a  longer  time,  in 
defeat,  than  any  other  man  the  party  has  ever  pro- 
duced? We  have  stated  all  these  qualities  of  superb 
manhood  in  this  lesson.  We  will  approximate  unto 
the  greatness  of  these  men  as  we  develop  self-mastery 
and  use  our  will  power  not  only  to  develop  these  quali- 
ties but  to  drive  out  the  negative  qualities. 

QA  salesman's  general  education  may  be  poor, 
while  his  special  education  may  be  good  enough  to 
make  him  a  great  salesman.  Every  quality  of  the 
individual,  except  initiative,  might  be  marked  100  per 
cent,  but  if  that  is  poor,  if  the  salesman  is  lazy,  he 
will  still  be  a  failure.  If  every  quality  but  appearance 
is  marked  100  per  cent,  the  salesman  will  sti'll  be  a 
failure  if  he  presents  a  seedy  and  uncouth  appear- 
ance. The  same  is  true  in  regard  to  personality — the 
salesman  might  be  able  to  speak  or  read  a  dozen 
languages  and  still  be  a  failure  if  his  personality  is 
weak,  vacillating,  and  negative.  One  thing  in  this 
connection  is  worthy  of  the  salesman's  careful  con- 
sideration, that  is  this,  a  salesman  may  have  de- 
veloped every  positive  quality  but  one,  honesty  for  in- 
stance, and  that  one  negative  quality  may  defeat 
him  in  the  long  run.  Look  out  for  every  quality.  Be 
sure  that  you  do  not  harbor  any  enemies.  You  simply 
must  weed  out  the  negative  and  develop  the  positive 
qualities.  A  great  and  glorious  success  depends  up- 
on it.  Pick  out  one  new  positive  quality  every  Mon- 
day morning  and  determine  that  at  any  cost  you  will 
live  that  quality  during  the  week  and  forever  after- 
wards. It  may  hurt  a  little  at  first  to  pull  up  some  of 
the  weeds,  but  your  manhood  demands  that  you  do 
it.  You  can  do  anything  you  desire. 


Personality  and  How  to  Develop  It 


59 


Below  are  the  positive  qualities  of  the  In- 
tellect, of  the  Sensibilities,  and  of  the  Will,  which 
must  be  highly  developed  in  order  to  insure  a 
man  of  (1)  Ability,  of  (2)  Reliability,  and  (3) 
Leadership : 


Observation 

Concentration 

Memory 

Imagination 

Reason 

^Judgment 

Honesty 

Loyalty 

Faith 

Ambition 

Enthusiasm 

Optimism 

Sincerity 


['Decision 
I  Punctuality 
|  Courage 
[initiative 


60  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 


Suggestive  Questions  and  Exercises 


1.  What  is  personality  ? 

2.  What  is  meant  by  positive  qualities'! 

3.  What  is  meant  by  negative  qualities? 

4.  Which  positive   qualities   do   you    think    are 
most  important  ? 

5.  Name  the  three  different  qualities  of  man? 

6.  The  human  mind  is  divided  into  how  many 
parts? 

1.     What  are  the  functions  of  each? 

8.  What  effect,  according  to  Hudson,  does  the 
subjective  mind  have  upon  the  body? 

9.  Why  is  a  good  personality  dependent  entire- 
ly upon  the  development  of  the  positive  qualities? 

10.  Why  is  a  good  personality  absolutely  essential 
in  order  to  become  a  success? 

11.  Why   is   "preparedness"   or  preparation   ab- 
solutely essential  to  success  in  Salesmanship? 

12.  Give    from    memory    what    you   can  of  the 
analytical  outline. 

13.  What  do  you  mean  by  confidence? 

14.  How  is  faith  developed? 

15.  Is  it  possible  to  develop  all  the  positive  quali- 
ties but  one  and  then  fail  as  a  salesman6/     Give  ex- 
ample. 

16.  Write  one  hundred  words  on  the  positive  qual- 
ties  which  you  consider  most  important  in  the  develop- 
ment of  your  personality. 

17.  Write  one  hundred  words  showing  the  neces- 
sity of  preparation  for  success. 


LESSON  III. 


efficiency 

N  the  first  lesson  I  said  we  were  in  the 
midst  of  a  business  revolution.  That  means 
we  are  in  the  midst  of  a  mental  revolution. 
One  of  our  prominent  thinkers  has  said 
that  the  human  mind,  as  a  result  of 
a  knowledge  of  modern  psychology,  has  made  more 
progress  during  the  last  thirty  years  than  during  all 
previous  history.  In  this  lesson  I  want  to  discuss 
some  of  the  positive  and  negative  qualities  which  go 
to  build  up  or  tear  down  character. 

Loyalty. 

(£  Loyalty  consists  in  giving  faithful  allegiance 
to  your  employer;  it  consists  in  giving  whole  hearted 
uiitiring  service  to  the  concern  that  furnishes  you 
with  bread  and  butter.  Loyalty  consists  in  working 
during  business  hours  and  after  business  hours  and 
before  business  hours  for  the  best  interests  of  the  con- 
cern. Loyalty  consists  in  doing  everything  within 
your  power  to  figure  out  some  new  idea  or  some  new 
method  that  will  in  some  way  advance  the  interests  of 
your  concern.  Every  wise  manager  is  on  the  alert  to 
get  a  new  idea  or  a  better  method  of  doing  business. 
He  is  also  on  the  alert  to  promote  any  employe  who  is 
so  loyal  as  to  render  such  service.  I  know  a  young  col- 

[61] 


62  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

lege  professor  who  was  so  loyal  to  his  university  last 
year,  who  responded  to  so  many  calls  for  help  that  he 
not  only  reflected  glory  upon  the  university,  but  was 
offered  the  presidency  of  four  different  colleges. 

C£But  loyalty  is  its  own  reward.  The  man  who 
will  not  do  his  best  under  all  circumstances,  who  will 
not  render  the  highest  service  of  which  he  is  capable, 
is  not  only  disloyal  to  his  employer,  but  he  is  dis- 
loyal to  the  dictates  of  his  own  highest  self.  Re- 
member that  it  is  an  infinitely  greater  thing  to  build 
a  life,  than  to  make  a  living.  Remember  that  what- 
ever you  do  for  the  interests  of  your  employer  reacts 
upon  your  own  life  and  character.  Remember  that 
every  new  idea  or  new  method  you  originate  and  every 
bit  of  exceptional  service  you  render,  is  worth  in- 
finitely more  in  the  way  of  building  your  own  char- 
acter and  developing  your  own  ability  for  a  larger 
future  service  than  it  can  possibly  be  worth  in  the 
way  of  immediate  financial  reward.  The  man  who  is 
disloyal  to  his  employer  defrauds  him,  but  what  is  much 
worse,  he  goes  a  long  way  toward  ruining  his  own  char- 
acter. 

(£The  salesman  or  employe  who  extravagantly 
spends  his  employer's  money  for  high  priced  meals 
and  high  or  highest  priced  hotel  rooms  is  not  loyal 
to  his  house.  I  know  one  traveling  man  who  rarely 
pays  more  than  a  dollar  for  a  room  in  a  hotel,  often 
eats  a  twenty-five  cent  meal  and  walks  when  he  might 
pay  bus  fare.  He  is  getting  a  salary  of  over  four 
hundred  dollars  a  month  and  expenses  and  many  side 
privileges  which  cost  his  associates  money.  But  he 
is  loyal  to  his  house.  On  the  other  hand,  I  know 
scores  of  salesmen  who  pay  from  $1.50  to  $2.50  for  a 
room  and  from  seventy-five  cents  up  for  meals,  but 
they  are  getting  from  seventy-five  to  a  hundred  dollars 


Efficiency  63 

a  month  and  expenses.  They  are  disloyal  to  their  con- 
cern and,  therefore,  disloyal  to  themselves.  They  pay 
their  own  expense  accounts  in  reduced  salary,  but  they 
do  not  realize  it. 

C[If  you  cannot  render  your  employer  the  most 
enthusiastic  loyal  service,  then  quit.  But  while  you 
are  taking  his  money,  your  own  self-respect  requires 
you  to  boost  for  him  and  his  business.  You  owe  it  to 
your  employer  and  to  yourself  to  either  get  in  line  and 
stay  in  line,  or  get  out. 

Honesty. 

C£I  do  not  believe  there  ever  was  a  greater  de- 
mand for  men  who  are  thoroughly  honest  and  re- 
liable, than  there  is  to-day.  I  do  not  believe  there 
ever  was  a  time  when  business  men  were  willing  to  pay 
such  a  premium  for  honesty  as  they  are  to-day.  There 
is  a  mania  to  get  rich  quick  in  these  days  and  in 
practically  every  case  it  ends  in  failure,  remorse  and 
despair.  It  is  said  that  a  young  man  in  Marshall 
Field's  store  had  made  an  exceptional  record.  He  was 
marked  for  a  prominent  position.  They  decided  to 
test  him  in  every  way,  during  a  period  of  six  months, 
before  promotion.  They  tested  him  as  to  his  morality, 
his  ability  and  his  honesty.  They  left  money  lying 
around  in  order  to  tempt  him.  One  day  he  picked  up 
and  kept  a  fifty-cent  piece  that  was  put  in  his  way 
in  order  to  tempt  him.  He  never  got  the  promotion. 
Your  character  will  be  submitted  to  the  same  gruel- 
ling tests  in  the  future.  Don 't  you  think  it  will  pay  to 
develop  the  character  to  pass  the  required  tests? 

C£A  prominent  retail  merchant  recently  told  me 
that  dishonesty  caused  more  trouble  in  his  store 
than  anything  else.  He  said,  "We  used  to  expect 


64  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

twenty-four  honest  men  out  of  every  twenty-five,  now 
it  seems  difficult  to  find  more  than  one  out  of  the 
twenty-five  who  is  thoroughly  honest."  Of  course  I 
think  his  case  was  extreme,  but  I  know  he  had  lost  a 
lot  of  money  in  his  business  through  theft,  on  the  part 
of  his  clerks.  The  first  qualification  for  success,  in 
his  mind,  is  honesty. 

QThe  manager  of  one  of  the  great  department 
stores  in  the  middle  west,  a  store  employing  nearly  a 
thousand  sales  people,  told  me  that  dishonesty  and 
indifference  were  the  "twin  demons"  in  his  store. 

QWhen  you  work  for  a  man  on  a  salary,  you 
owe  him  all  your  loyalty,  all  your  ambition,  all  your 
enthusiasm  and  all  your  ability;  and  to  engage  in  any 
outside  enterprises  when  all  your  time  and  efforts  are 
sold  to  him,  is  not  honest. 

QI  know  a  young  man  who  works  in  an  office 
where  his  employer  is  absent  a  good  deal  of  the  time. 
It  is  necessary  for  him  to  be  in  the  office  at  eight  in 
the  morning,  but  he  is  seldom  there  before  ten,  al- 
though he  tells  his  employer  he  is  always  there  at 
eight.  This  is  another  phase  of  dishonesty  to  be  de- 
plored. But  the  employe  who  resorts  to  it  is  wreak- 
ing vengeance  on  his  own  life  and  character,  and  it 
is  simply  a  question  of  days  until  he  loses  his  position. 

Initiative. 

C£One  of  the  qualities  most  highly  valued  and 
most  highly  paid  for  by  the  business  world  is  initiative. 
Initiative  is  going  ahead  and  doing  the  thing  that 
needs  to  be  done  without  being  told.  Hubbard 
says,  "The  world  reserves  its  big  prizes  for  but  one 
thing  and  that  is  'initiative.'  '  Initiative  is  the  re- 
sult of  constructive  thinking.  In  fact,  constructive 


Efficiency  65 

thinking  plus  initiative  gets  results.  A  country  bank- 
er said  to  me  one  day,  "Can  you  send  me  a  young 
man  of  initiative,  a  young  man  who  will  sweep  out 
without  being  told,  who  will  do  his  bookkeeping  with- 
out being  told,  who  will  do  his  own  work  of  his  own 
accord  without  being  told,  over  and  over  and  over 
again?"  The  young  man  who  lacks  initiative  is  lazy, 
purposeless  and  unwilling  to  do  his  part  in  life's  work. 
Initiative  is  going  ahead  and  doing  to  a  finish  what 
you  ought  to  do  in  the  position  you  are  now  in,  and 
doing  it  without  being  told.  When  you  do  that  and 
do  it  well,  you  will  have  a  chance  to  do  the  big  things 
later  on. 

QNot  many  young  men  have  enough  initiative 
to  stay  at  home  in  the  evening,  after  a  hard  day's 
work,  and  study,  when  the  lure  of  the  park,  the  pool 
hall  and  the  skating  rink  is  upon  them.  Those  who 
have  that  kind  of  initiative  are  eagerly  snapped  up 
by  the  business  world. 

xQW  C.  Brown  was  a  section  hand  in  Waterloo, 
Iowa,  one  out  of  a  million  who  had  initiative  enough 
to  study  at  night  and  sacrifice  the  pleasures  of  the 
crowd.  But  it  paid  him.  He  is  to-day  the  president  of 
the  New  York  Central  Lines. 

C£  Initiative  consists  in  working  six  days  a  week 
when  you  are  your  own  boss,  instead  of  loafing  two  or 
three  days  a  week.  The  average  salesman  who  works 
on  a  commission  basis  wastes  at  least  two  days  a  week 
and  many  times  he  wastes  more.  That  is  the  reason  he 
remains  an  average  salesman.  When  a  man  refuses 
to  take  the  initiative  and  must  have  a  superintendent 
over  him  to  force  him  to  keep  busy,  he  must  pay  that 
superintendent 's  salary. 


66  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

Service. 

C£A  great  philosopher  has  said,  "He  that  is  great- 
est among  you  shall  be  your  servant."  I  believe  the 
time  is  near  at  hand  in  this  country  when  that  match- 
less philosophy  will  be  fulfilled.  The  man  to-day  who- 
renders  the  greatest  public  service  is  the  public's  great- 
est benefactor,  and  such  a  one  is  entitled  to  the  great- 
est profit.  To-day  we  ask,  "What  kind  of  service  can 
you  render?"  not  "How  much  money  do  you  want?"" 
If  you  render  the  service,  you  are  sure  of  the  money. 
We  constantly  hear  the  remark,  "It  isn't  a  question  of 
what  it  costs  but  a  question  of  what  it  is  worth." 

C[I  know  a  bright  ambitious  young  man  who  said 
to  the  superintendent  of  a  great  concern,  "I  will  come 
in  and  work  for  you  two  months,  you  to  pay  what 
you  think  I  am  worth  at  the  end  of  that  time.  Then 
we  will  talk  over  a  proposition  for  the  future.  I  know 
I  can  satisfy  you.  All  I  want  now  is  an  opportunity 
to  prove  my  value  to  you."  That  young  man  wasn't 
thinking  of  money,  but  of  service.  The  young  man 
who  thinks  only  of  his  salary  and  the  clock,  hasn't 
yet  learned  the  meaning  of  the  word  service. 

QThe  employe  who  is  careless  or  indifferent  or 
who  thinks  of  his  own  affairs  during  business  hours,, 
is  not  giving  good  service;  neither  is  the  employe  who 
chews  gum  or  uses  tobacco  in  any  form  during  busi- 
ness hours.  I  honestly  believe  that  to  smoke  during 
business  hours  is  to  reduce  your  value  at  least  ten 
per  cent,  or  more.  President  John  H.  Patterson  of  the 
National  Cash  Register  Company  has  possibly  preached 
as  much  or  more  against  smoking  than  any  great  ex- 
ecutive in  this  country.  He  says:  "Don't  do  it,  boys, 
it  will  make  you  satisfied.  I  gave  it  up  for  that  rea- 
son. I  couldn't  afford  to  be  satisfied." 


Efficiency  67 

C£The  measure  of  your  service  will  be  the  meas- 
ure of  your  future  profit.  The  hardware  company 
that  sent  a  team  two  miles  for  a  broken  boiler  lid  and 
made  one  to  order  for  a  quarter,  then  delivered  it, 
was  rendering  a  service  with  an  eye  to  future  business. 

Indifference. 

C[Self  satisfaction  and  indifference  are  two  of 
the  greatest  obstacles  that  stand  in  the  way  of  success 
to-day.  I  sometimes  think  that  seventy-five  per  cent, 
of  the  people  of  this  country  are  asleep  half  of  the 
time.  You  will  find  evidence  of  self-satisfaction 
among  people  who  work  inside  more  often  than  those 
who  work  in  the  open  air.  Possibly  the  most  indiffer- 
ent class  of  sales  people  to  be  found  anywhere  are 
found  in  the  retail  stores. 

QThe  indifferent  man  is  unconcerned  about  either 
the  present  or  the  future.  He  is  satisfied  to  exist.  I 
have  spent  some  years  analyzing  indifference  and  I  am 
convinced  that  it  is  due  largely,  if  not  altogether,  to 
ignorance.  The  indifferent  man  doesn't  know  and  he 
doesn't  know  he  doesn't  know,  and  furthermore  he 
doesn't  care.  He  permits  little  mental  stimulus  to 
enter  his  life.  His  brain  is  dormant  and  unde- 
veloped. He  has  no  ideal.  He  has  little  purpose  and 
he  has  little  ambition.  I  have  talked  to  thousands  of 
such  people.  They  have  simply  blinked  at  me.  They 
did  not  really  understand  and  they  were  too  lazy  to 
investigate.  Indifference  is  a  habit  born  of  laziness. 
It  is  the  natural  result  of  an  untrained  and  sluggish 
brain.  The  only  hope  for  such  a  man  is  to  wake  up  and 
feed  his  impoverished  brain  or  he  is  doomed.  I  often 
step  into  a  retail  store  and  ask  if  they  have  a 


68  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

certain  article.     The  clerk  says,  "Yes,"  and  sometimes 
stirs  himself  enough  to  say,  ' '  Did  you  want  one  ? ' ' 

Ambition. 

QThe  world  hasn't  yet  realized  that  ambition  is 
quite  largely  a  matter  of  development ;  that  the  brain 
must  be  fed  or  it  will  die  just  as  surely  as  corn 
tassels  die  before  a  hot  wind  in  July.  When  an  idea 
comes  to  the  brain  the  blood  brings  nourishment  to 
that  brain  cell  and  it  develops,  but  when  no  ideas 
come  the  blood  does  not  flow  that  way  and  the  un- 
nourished  cell  atrophies  and  dies. 

Money. 

Q  Money  is  not  everything,  but  we  need  some  of  it 
in  order  to  enjoy  happiness  and  the  comforts  of  life. 
Gage  Tarbell,  the  great  Life  Insurance  man,  has  said 
that  "Wealth  is  an  intellectual  achievement."  I  agree 
with  him  and  so  do  you.  The  man  of  untrained  in- 
tellect cannot  produce  wealth.  To  be  able,  therefore, 
to  produce  wealth  honestly  and  legitimately  is  cer- 
tainly an  intellectual  achievement  to  be -coveted. 

C[A  man  is  only  worth  two  dollars  a  day  from 
his  chin  down  selling  muscle,  but  as  high  as  a  hundred 
and  forty-four  thousand  a  year  from  his  chin  up  sell- 
ing brains,  as  President  of  the  National  Cash  Register 
Company.  Which  do  you  want  to  sell,  brains  or  mus- 
cle? It  pays  a  good  deal  better  to  sell  brains  so  you 
better  decide  to  be  a  chin  upper,  rather  than  a  chin 
downer. 

C£A  steel  rail  is  only  worth  about  twenty-four 
dollars  a  ton,  but  put  it  through  the  proper  refining 
processes  and  it  is  worth  twelve  million  a  ton  when 


Efficiency  69 

made  into  watch  springs.  Our  minds  improve  accord- 
ingly when  put  through  the  proper  mental  processes. 

CTA  large  prize  was  once  offered  in  England  for 
the  best  definition  of  money.  Many  definitions  came 
in  but  the  one  that  won  first  prize  was  written  by  a 
woman  who  was  a  bedridden  invalid.  It  is  as  follows: 
"Money  is  a  commodity  that  will  buy  anything  but 
health  and  happiness,  and  is  a  universal  passport  to 
everywhere  but  heaven." 

CT  Every  man  owes  it  to  himself  to  so  equip  himself 
that  he  can  support  himself  and  a  family  if  he  has 
one;  take  a  vacation  when  he  needs  it,  retire  any  time 
after  sixty  if  he  so  desires,  and  have  enough  left  to 
provide  for  his  needs  during  the  remaining  years  of 
his  life. 

Courtesy. 

G[  There  is  no  other  one  thing  which  costs  so  little 
and  is  worth  so  much  as  courtesy.  It  is  an  outward 
expression  of  an  inward  kindness.  It  is  an  indication 
that  the  heart  is  right  and  that  we  delight  to  serve. 

QA  young  man  by  the  name  of  John  Boyd  was 
brought  up  in  Pella,  Iowa.  He  had  a  high  school 
education  and  believed  he  could  succeed  in  life.  He 
believed  in  courtesy.  In  fact  it  was  a  part  of  his  par- 
ticular philosophy.  He  received  an  appointment  as 
assistant  doorkeeper  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
One  day  a  prominent  looking  business  man  approached 
the  doorkeeper  and  asked  if  he  knew  where  he  could 
find  Senator  Sargent  of  California.  This  doorkeeper 
did  not  particularly  believe  in  the  philosophy  of  court- 
esy anyway,  and  in  a  very  pompous  manner  gave  the 
stranger  to  understand  that  they  had  all  they  could 
do  to  take  care  of  the  members  of  the  House  without 
running  after  Senators.  Mr.  Boyd  heard  the  conver- 


70  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

sation  and  it  did  not  agree  with  his  theory  of  courtesy, 
so  he  followed  the  stranger  and  told  him  he  could 
find  the  Senator  for  him  if  he  was  in  the  building. 
His  kindness  was  greatly  appreciated.  He  hurried 
away,  soon  found  the  Senator,  and  took  the  stranger 
to  him.  Boyd  then  started  to  leave.  The  stranger  gave 
him  his  card  and  asked  him  to  meet  him  that  after- 
noon at  the  hotel.  When  Mr.  Boyd  looked  at  the 
card,  he  was  surprised  to  learn  that  the  stranger  was 
none  other  than  Collis  P.  Huntington,  the  famous  rail- 
road president. 

C£When  they  met  at  the  hotel  that  afternoon, 
Mr.  Huntington  learned  that  Mr.  Boyd  was  getting 
twelve  hundred  a  year.  He  immediately  offered  him 
$1,800.  "But,"  said  the  young  man,  "I  don't  know 
anything  about  the  railroad  business."  "But  you  do 
know  how  to  be  a  gentleman,"  said  Mr.  Huntington, 
"and  that  is  what  a  lot  of  fellows  around  here  don't 
know  enough  to  be."  Mr.  Boyd  accepted  the  position. 
He  became  Huntington 's  greatest  lobbyist  and  his 
salary  was  raised  to  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year.  Does 
it  pay  to  be  courteous?  It  pays  bigger  dividends  in 
proportion  to  the  investment  than  anything  else  I 
know  of. 

Thrift. 

C£We  are  living  in  an  extravagant,  spend-thrift 
age.  That  is  one  reason  so  many  men  are  penniless 
at  the  age  of  sixty.  The  idea  of  poverty  in  old 
age  ought  to  haunt  every  young  man  and  make  him 
feel  the  necessity  of  saving  every  dollar  he  can  possi- 
bly get  along  without.  When  you  receive  an  income 
from  money  invested,  you  multiply  your  earning  power. 
When  you  have  money  invested  you  have  more  re- 


Efficiency  71 

spect  for  yourself.    You  feel  you  are  a  capitalist.    You 
are  a  better  citizen  and  a  better  patriot. 

,C£If  eighty  million  people  save  a  nickel  a  day  it 
would  amount  to  $1,550,200  a  year.  Save  ten  cents 
a  day  and  invest  it  at  six  per  cent,  compound  interest 
and  it  will  amount  to  $6,000  in  forty  years.  And 
yet  we  handle  the  nickles  and  dimes  as  if  they  did 
not  amount  to  anything. 

QLook  out  for  "wild  cat"  investment  schemes 
that  offer  big  dividends.  There  is  an  enormous  amounl 
of  money  lost  that  way  every  year. 

Q  Every  young  man  should  take  out  some  in- 
surance. That  is  a  safe  investment.  An  insurance 
agent  once  crossed  the  Atlantic  ocean  with  Cyrus  W. 
Field  in  order  to  get  a  chance  to  talk  insurance  to 
him.  He  was  rewarded  with  a  $450,000  policy.  Field 
was  worth  twenty  millions  then,  but  afterwards  lost 
it  all  except  the  insurance  policy. 

Concentration. 

C£It  takes  the  average  young  student  nearly  a 
year  to  learn  how  to  concentrate  his  mind  upon  his 
work.  I  know  a  boy  of  thirteen  who  was  an  expert 
with  the  typewriter,  considering  his  age.  He  was 
demonstrating  at  a  county  fair  and  a  business  man  tried 
his  best  to  disturb  him.  The  man  asked  him  several  ques- 
tions but  the  boy  never  looked  up  or  paid  the  least 
attention  to  the  questions  until  he  was  through.  He 
then  asked  the  man  what  he  wanted.  The  man  at 
once  offered  him  a  position  and  asked  him  how  he 
could  work  that  way  while  being  disturbed.  The  boy 
told  him  he  had  learned  to  concentrate  his  mind  by 
continual  practice. 


72  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 


saw  a  machine  at  the  World's  Fair  in  St. 
Louis  that  so  concentrated  the  sun's  rays  that  it  actual- 
ly melted  iron.  The  mind  which  concentrates  is  power- 
ful, and  usually  routs  opposition.  You  must  first  pay 
attention  to  what  you  are  doing,  then  concentrate  the 
mind  upon  it.  This  takes  both  energy  and  will  power. 
This  will  be  taken  up  in  a  later  lesson. 

(£1  have  discovered  that  I  can  write  just  as  well 
with  a  crowd  talking  or  playing  all  around  me,  but 
I  have  also  discovered  that  it  doesn't  pay  to  do  it  as 
it  takes  energy  to  counteract  the  disturbance.  In  study- 
ing, in  writing  or  in  making  a  sale,  I  focus  all  the 
power  of  my  mind  on  what  I  am  doing.  I  entirely 
shut  out  the  outside  world.  It  takes  practice  to  do 
this,  but  it  pays  big.  Begin  immediately  to  concen- 
trate upon  what  you  are  doing.  Concentration  means 
success,  while  "  scatteration  "  means  failure. 

Time. 

C£The  hardest  thing  to  teach  a  young  man  is  to 
appreciate  the  value  of  time.  It  is  said  that  Joseph 
Cook,  the  great  thinker  and  lecturer,  carried  a  little 
dictionary  in  his  pocket  when  a  student,  in  order  to 
have  something  to  study  when  waiting  for  his  meals 
or  at  other  odd  moments  of  leisure.  Many  of  the 
world's  great  men,  Gladstone  among  them,  have  car- 
ried books  in  their  pockets  in  order  to  utilize  spare 
moments. 

C£If  you  were  held  up  on  a  street  and  robbed 
of  five  dollars,  you  would  call  the  police,  but  you 
fritter  away  diamond  minutes  and  golden  hours  doing 
nothing  of  value,  and  your  conscience  doesn't  hurt 
you.  Time  is  money  and  knowledge  is  power.  But 
we  will  never  get  either  the  money  or  knowledge  until 


Efficiency  73 

we  learn  how  to  utilize  our  time  and  especially  our 
spare  moments.  A  reputation  for  ability  as  a  pool 
player  will  not  help  you  any  and  it  may  advertise  you 
adversely  sometime  when  you  want  a  position. 

Habits  that  Reduce  Efficiency. 

C£The  business  world  judges  a  man  either  favor- 
ably or  adversely  because  of  his  qualifications  or  his 
habits.  As  a  whole,  the  business  world  looks  askance 
at  a  man  who  drinks.  A  prominent  business  man  of 
Omaha,  Mr.  F.  W.  Heron,  president  of  the  Royal  In- 
demnity Company  says,  "Liquor  and  business  will 
not  mix  between  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  and 
seven  in  the  evening,  if  at  all."  Col.  Ingersoll  very 
well  voiced  the  opinion  of  the  business  world  when 
he  said,  "I  am  aware  there  is  a  prejudice  against 
any  man  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  alcohol.  I 
believe  that  from  the  time  it  issues  from  the  coiled  and 
poisonous  worm  in  the  distillery  until  it  empties  into 
the  stream  of  death,  dishonor  and  crime,  that  it  de- 
moralizes everyone  who  touches  it,  from  its  source 
to  where  it  ends.  I  do  not  believe  anyone  can  con- 
template the  subject  without  becoming  prejudiced 
against  the  liquor  crime.  All  we  have  to  do,  gentle- 
men, is  to  think  of  the  wrecks  on  either  bank  of  the 
stream  of  death,  of  the  suicides,  of  the  insanity,  of 
the  poverty,  of  the  ignorance,  of  the  destitution,  of 
the  little  children  tugging  at  the  faded  and  weary 
breasts  of  weeping  and  despairing  wives,  asking  for 
bread;  of  the  talented  men  of  genius  it  has  wrecked, 
the  men  struggling  with  imaginary  serpents,  produced 
by  this  devilish  thing;  and  when  you  think  of  the 
jails,  of  the  almshouses,  of  the  asylums,  of  the  prisons, 
of  the  scaffolds  on  either  bank,  I  do  not  wonder  that 


74  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

every  thoughtful  man  is  prejudiced  against  this  stuff 
called  alcohol." 

QThe  gospel  of  maximum  efficiency,  as  preached 
by  the  big  leaders  to-day,  finds  no  place  for  either 
strong  drink  or  cigarettes.  This  is  not  a  question  of 
morality,  but  of  business  efficiency.  Neither  you  nor 
I  can  afford  to  receive  this  information  with  preju- 
diced minds.  In  fact,  we  cannot  afford  to  let  our 
prejudice  either  stand  in  the  way  of  our  opportunities 
or  chloroform  our  judgment. 

C£It  takes  a  wise  man  to  profit  from  the  ex- 
perience of  wise  men.  Any  fool  can  learn  from  ex- 
perience, no  matter  how  costly  it  may  be. 

QThe  following  quotations  on  the  cigarette  are 
from  the  pens  of  Elbert  Hubbard  and  Orison  Swett 
Harden,  both  world-famed  writers  and  employers  of 
men. 

The  Cigarette. 

Q Elbert  Hubbard  says,  "If  you  want  a  man  who 
will  train  on,  flee  the  cigarettist  as  you  would  a 
pestilence.  As  a  close  observer  of  men  and  an  em- 
ployer of  labor  for  over  twenty-five  years,  I  give  you 
this:  Never  advance  the  pay  of  a  cigarette  smoker — 
never  promote  him — never  depend  upon  him  to  carry 
a  roll  to  Gomez,  unless  you  do  not  care  for  Gomez 
and  are  willing  to  lose  the  roll. 

C£"I  say,  do  not  promote  the  cigarette  smoker  for 
the  time  will  surely  come  when  you  will  rue  the  day 
you  ever  placed  him  in  a  position  where  he  can  plague 
you  by  doing  those  things  which  he  ought  not,  and 
by  leaving  undone  those  things  he  should  have  done. 

Q"I  am  aware  that  in  some  parts  of  Europe 
cigarette  smoking  is  almost  universal  and  that  no 
special  deleterious  effects  are  noticeable.  This  im- 


Efficiency  75 

munity  is  owing  to  the  temperament  of  the  people  and 
the  peculiarities  of  the  climate.  My  argument  herein 
has  America  and  Americans  in  mind.  Poison  affects 
different  people  differently,  and  American  nerves  can- 
not stand  artificial  stimulants.  The  dull  and  phleg- 
matic Russian  can  do  things  we  cannot.  The  Don. 
Dago,  Greaser  and  Turk  are  built  on  different 
lines  from  us.  Americans  need  all  the  brain  power 
they  possess  in  their  business. 

C["  Cigarette  smoking  is  not  periodic — it  is  con- 
tinuous,— a  slow,  insidious,  sure  poison.  Its  result  can 
be  foretold  as  accurately  as  the  expert  chemist  can 
foresee  the  end  of  incipient  locomotor  ataxia.  urO-^U1^  •^^r> 

C£"But  for  the  young  man  who  has  become  so 
calloused  that  he  smokes  cigarettes  in  the  presence  of 
his  mother,  sister  or  sweetheart,  there  is  little  hope. 
The  poison  has  already  tainted  his  moral  nature  and 
for  him  the  work  of  dissolution,  disintegration  and 
degeneration  has  begun.  He  is  a  defective — a  physi- 
cal, mental  and  moral  defective.  Hope  is  only  for 
the  youth  who  is  ashamed  of  his  lapses. 

C["In  preparing  a  culture  bed  for  vice  germs,  do 
not  omit  cigarettes.  Cigarettes  stupefy  the  conscience, 
deaden  the  brain,  place  the  affections  in  abeyance,  and 
bring  the  beast  to  the  surface.  The  burning  of  tobacco 
and  paper  together  in  contact  with  the  saliva  distills 
a  subtle  chemical  poison  that  has  its  sure  effects  even 
upon  the  strongest  constitutions. 

C["0ne  marked  peculiarity  of  the  cigarette  fiend 
is  that  invariably  he  makes  a  great  discovery.  It  is 
that  cleverness,  astuteness,  trickery,  and  untruth  are 
good  substitutes  for  simplicity,  frankness  and  plain 
common  honesty. 


76  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

C£"The  difference  between  mine  and  thine  is  a 
very  hazy  proposition  to  the  cigarettist.  Larceny  and 
lying  are  sprouts  that  grow  from  the  same  soil. 

(£"  Dishonor,  perfidy,  disappointment,  disgrace  are 
the  end  of  all.  And  so  I  close  by  again  sounding  a 
warning  note  to  the  employer  of  labor.  Place  no  con- 
fidence in  the  cigarettist,  never  promote  him — he  is  an 
irresponsible  being — a  defective.  Love  him  if  you  can; 
pity  him  if  you  will,  but  give  him  no  chance  to  clutch 
you  with  his  nicotine  fingers  and  drag  you  beneath  the 
wave." 

QThe  above  from  Mr.  Hubbard  is  very  strong 
language.  The  following  from  Orison  Swett  Harden, 
himself  a  doctor  of  medicine,  and  also  one  of  the  world 's 
greatest  writers  on  Success,  is  even  stronger. 

C£He  says,  "I  leave  it  to  others  to  discuss  the 
moral  side  of  cigarette  smoking.  I  denounce  it  simply 
because  of  its  blighting,  blasting  effect  upon  one's  suc- 
cess in  life. 

C£"The  whole  tendency  of  cigarette  nicotine  poi- 
son in  youth  is  to  arrest  development.  It  is  fatal  to 
all  normal  functions.  It  blights  and  blasts  both  health 
and  morals.  It  not  only  ruins  the  faculties,  but  it 
unbalances  the  mind  as  well.  Many  of  the  most  piti- 
able cases  of  insanity  in  our  asylums  are  cigarette  fiends. 
It  creates  abnormal  appetites,  strange  longings,  and  in 
many  cases  an  almost  irresistible  inclination  to  crime. 
The  moral  depravity  which  follows  the  cigarette  habit 
is  something  frightful.  Lying,  cheating,  impurity,  loss 
of  mind,  of  courage  and  manhood,  a  complete  drop- 
ping of  life's  standards  all  along  the  lines  are  its  gen- 
eral results. 

(£" Magistrate  Crane  of  New  York  City,  says: 
'Ninety-nine  out  of  a  hundred  boys  between  the  ages 
of  ten  and  seventeen  years  who  come  before  me  charged 


Efficiency  77 

with  crime  have  their  fingers  disfigured  by  yellow  cigar- 
ette stains.  I  am  not  a  crank  on  this  subject,  I  do 
not  care  to  pose  as  a  reformer,  but  it  is  my  opinion 
that  cigarettes  will  do  more  than  liquor  to  ruin  boys. 
When  you  have  arraigned  before  you  boys  hopelessly 
deaf  through  the  excessive  use  of  cigarettes,  boys  who 
have  stolen  their  sisters'  earnings,  boys  who  absolutely 
refuse  to  work,  who  do  nothing  but  gamble  and  steal, 
you  cannot  help  seeing  that  there  is  some  direct  cause, 
and  a  great  deal  of  this  boyhood  crime  is,  in  my  mind, 
easy  to  trace  to  the  deadly  cigarette.  There  is  some- 
thing in  the  poison  of  the  cigarette  that  seems  to  get 
into  the  system  of  the  boy  which  destroys  all  moral 
fiber.' 

C[ ' '  He  gives  the  following  probable  course  of  a  boy 
who  begins  to  smoke  cigarettes:  'First,  cigarettes. 
Second,  beer  and  liquors.  Third,  craps,  petty  gamb- 
ling. Fourth,  horse  racing — gambling  on  a  bigger 
scale.  Fifth,  larceny.  Sixth,  state  prison.' 

C["Dr.  J.  J.  Kellogg  says:  'A  few  months  ago 
I  had  all  the  nicotine  removed  from  a  cigarette,  mak- 
ing a  solution  out  of  it.  I  injected  half  the  quantity 
into  a  frog  with  the  effect  that  the  frog  died  almost  in- 
stantly. The  rest  was  administered  to  another  frog 
with  like  effect.  Both  frogs  were  full  grown  and  of 
average  size.  The  conclusion  is  evident  that  a  single 
cigarette  contains  poison  enough  to  kill  two  frogs. ' 

Q"A  boy  who  smokes  twenty  cigarettes  a  day 
has  inhaled  enough  poison  to  kill  forty  frogs.  Why 
does  the  poison  not  kill  the  boy?  It  does  kill  him. 
If  not  immediately,  he  will  die  sooner  or  later  of  weak 
heart,  Bright 's  disease,  or  some  other  malady  which 
scientific  physicians  everywhere  recognize  as  a  natural 
result  of  chronic  nicotine  poisoning. 


78  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

,0["A  chemist,  not  long  since,  took  the  tobacco 
used  in  an  average  cigarette  and  soaked  it  in  several 
teaspoonfuls  of  water  and  then  injected  a  portion  of 
it  under  the  skin  of  a  cat.  The  cat  almost  immediate- 
ly went  into  convulsions,  and  died  in  fifteen  minutes. 
Dogs  have  been  killed  by  a  single  drop  of  nicotine. 

Killed  Both. 

C["A  young  man  died  in  a  Minnesota  State  insti- 
tution not  long  ago,  who  five  years  before  had  been 
one  of  the  most  promising  young  physicians  of  the 
west.  '  Still  under  thirty  years  at  the  time  of  his  com- 
mitment to  the  institution,'  says  a  newspaper  account 
of  the  story.  He  had  already  made  three  discoveries  in 
nervous  diseases  which  had  made  him  well  known  in 
his  profession.  But  he  smoked  cigarettes, — smoked  in- 
cessantly. For  a  long  time  the  effects  of  the  habit 
were  not  apparent,  in  fact,  it  was  not  until  a  patient 
died  on  the  operating  table  under  his  hands,  and  the 
young  doctor  went  to  pieces,  that  it  became  known  that 
he  was  a  victim  of  the  paper  pipes.  But  then  he  had 
gone  too  far.  He  was  a  wreck  in  mind  as  well  as  in 
body,  and  ended  his  days  in  a  maniac's  cell. 

Effect  of  Cigarette  Smoking. 

C£"  'You  smoke  thirty  cigarettes  a  day?' 

C[  'Yes,  on  the  average.' 

C£  'You  don't  blame  them  for  your  run  down  con- 
dition ? 

C[  'Not  in  the  least.    I  blame  my  hard  work.' 

CTThe  physician  shook  his  head.  He  smiled  in  a 
vexed  way.  Then  he  took  a  leech  out  of  a  glass  jar. 


Efficiency  79 

C£  'Let  me  show  you  something,'    he  said.      'Bare 
your  arm. 


cigarette  smoker  bared  his  pale  arm,  and 
the  doctor  laid  the  lean,  black  leech  upon  it.  The  leech 
fell  to  work  busily.  Its  body  began  to  swell.  Then,  all 
of  a  sudden,  a  kind  of  shudder  convulsed  it,  and  it  fell 
to  the  floor  —  dead. 

Q  'That's  what  your    blood  did    to  that  leech,' 
said  the  physician.       He  took  up  the  little  corpse  be- 
tween his  finger  and  thumb.      'Look  at   it,'     he  said. 
'Quite  dead,  you  see.    You  poisoned  it.' 

C£  'I  guess  it  wasn't  a  healthy  leech  in  the  first 
place,'  said  the  cigarette  smoker,  sullenly. 

Cf  'Wasn't  healthy,  eh?     Well,  we'll  try  again.' 

C[And  the  physician  clapped  two  leeches  on  the 
young  man's  thin  arm. 

Q  '  If  they  both  die,  '  said  the  patient,  '  I  '11  swear 
off  —  or,  at  least,  I'll  cut  down  my  daily  allowance  from 
thirty  to  ten.' 

C£Even  as  he  spoke  the  smaller  leech  shivered  and 
dropped  on  his  knee  dead,  and  a  moment  later  the 
larger  one  fell  beside  it. 

(J  'This  is  ghastly,'  said  the  young  man;  'I  am 
worse  than  the  pestilence  to  these  leeches.' 

C£  'It  is  the  empyreumatic  oil  in  your  blood,'  said 
the  medical  man.  'All  cigarette  smokers  have  it.' 

C£  'Doctor,'  said  the  young  man,  regarding  the 
three  dead  leeches  thoughtfully,  'I  half  believe  you're 
right.'  " 


80  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

University  Records. 

,C{"It  is  said  that  within  the  past  fifty  years  not 
a  student  at  Harvard  University  who  used  tobacco  has 
been  graduated  at  the  head  of  his  class,  although 
on  the  average  five  out  of  six  used  tobacco. 

Q"An  investigation  of  all  the  students  who  en- 
tered Yale  University  during  nine  years  shows  that 
the  cigarette  smokers  were  the  inferiors  both  in  weight 
and  lung  capacity  of  the  non-smokers,  although  they 
averaged  fifteen  months  older. 

C["Dr.  Fiske  of  the  Northwestern  Academy  has 
asked  all  pupils  who  will  not  give  up  cigarettes  to 
leave  the  academy.  In  one  year,  not  one  of  the  boys 
who  used  cigarettes  stood  in  the  front  rank  of  scholar- 
ship. 

Q"  'This  is  our  experience  in  teaching  more  than 
fifty  thousand  young  people,'  says  the  principal  of  a 
great  Business  College, '  cigarettes  bring  shattered 
nerves,  stunted  growth,  and  general  physical  and  men- 
tal degeneration.  We  refuse  to  receive  users  of  tobacco 
into  our  institution.' 

Q" Cigarette  smoking  is  no  longer  simply  a  moral 
question.  The  great  business  world  has  taken  it  up 
as  a  deadly  enemy  of  advancement  and  achievement. 
Leading  business  firms  all  over  the  country  have  put 
the  cigarette  on  the  prohibited  list.  In  Detroit  alone, 
sixty-nine  merchants  have  agreed  not  to  employ  the 
cigarette  user.  In  Chicago,  Montgomery  Ward  &  Com- 
pany, Hibbard,  Spencer,  Bartlett  &  Company,  and  some 
of  the  larger  concerns  have  prohibited  cigarette  smoking 
among  all  employes  under  eighteen  years  of  age.  Mar- 
shall Field  &  Company,  and  the  Morgan  &  Wright 
Tire  Company  have  this  rule:  'No  cigarettes  can  be 


Efficiency  81 

smoked  by  our  employes.'  One  of  the  questions  in 
the  application  blanks  at  Wanamaker's  reads:  'Do  you 
use  tobacco  or  cigarettes  ? ' 

C£"The  superintendent  of  the  Lindell  Street  Rail- 
way, of  St.  Louis,  says:  'Under  no  circumstances  will 
I  hire  a  man  who  smokes  cigarettes.  He  is  as  dangerous 
on  the  front  of  a  motor  as  a  man  who  drinks.  In  fact, 
he  is  more  dangerous;  his  nerves  are  apt  to  give  way 
at  any  moment.  If  I  find  a  car  running  badly,  I  im- 
mediately begin  to  investigate  to  find  if  the  man  smokes 
cigarettes.  Nine  times  out  of  ten  he  does,  and  then 
he  goes  for  good.' 

C["E.  H.  Harriman,  the  late  head  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  system  says:  'We  might  as  well  go 
to  a  lunatic  asylum  for  our  employes  as  to  hire  cigar- 
ette smokers.' 

<J"The  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford,  the 
Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific,  the  Lehigh  Valley, 
the  Burlington,  and  many  others  of  the  leading  rail- 
road companies  of  this  country  have  issued  orders  posi- 
tively forbidding  the  use  of  cigarettes  by  employes 
while  on  duty. 

C£ "  If  there  is  anything  the  youth  should  regard  as 
sacred  and  should  preserve  intact  at  all  hazards,  as 
it  affects  his  future  more  than  anything  else,  it  is  his 
will  power,  and  this  is  affected  very  early  in  the 
cigarette  smoker,  so  that  he  finds  himself  a  slave  to 
a  practice  which  was  once  absolutely  within  his  volition. 

Q"  Cigarette  smoking  early  impairs  the  digestive 
organs.  It  causes  a  gradual  loss  of  appetite,  and  the 
wretched  victim  substitutes  more  cigarettes  for  food. 
In  fact,  he  finally  gets  to  a  point  where  he  becomes 
such  a  slave  to  the  cigarette  that  he  cannot  do  with- 
out it. 


82  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

Q"  Herein  lies  one  of  the  greatest  dangers  of  the 
cigarette.  It  creates  a  longing  which  it  cannot  satisfy. 

C£"A  physician  in  charge  of  a  large  sanatorium 
in  the  West  says  that  three-fifths  of  all  the  men  who 
come  to  the  institution  within  a  year,  to  be  cured  of 
the  opium,  morphine,  or  cocaine  habit,  have  been  cigar- 
ette smokers,  and  that  sixty  per  cent,  of  these  pleaded 
as  their  only  excuse,  the  need  of  a  stronger  stimu- 
lant than  the  cigarette. 

C["  Excessive  cigarette  smoking  increases  the 
heart's  action  very  materially,  in  some  instances,  twen- 
ty-five or  thirty  beats  a  minute.  Think  of  the  enor- 
mous amount  of  extra  work  forced  upon  this  delicate  or- 
gan every  twenty- four  hours !  The  pulsations  are  not  only 
greatly  increased,  but  also,  very  materially  weakened 
so  that  the  blood  is  not  forced  to  every  part  of  the 
system,  and  hence  the  tissues  are  not  nourished  as 
they  would  be  by  means  of  fewer  but  stronger,  more 
vigorous  pulsations." 

C£We  are  willing  to  give  so  much  space  to  this 
discussion  of  the  cigarette,  because  no  intelligent  young 
man  wants  to  continue  a  habit  that  will  jeop- 
ardize his  whole  career.  The  young  man  who  per- 
sists in  smoking  the  cigarette  in  the  face  of  this  violent 
opposition  of  the  greatest  business  men  of  the  country, 
is  willing  to  commit  business  suicide  rather  than  give 
up  the  little  "coffin  nail." 

C£  Health  is  the  first  requisite  of  success  in  this 
strenuous  age,  and  no  man  who  is  wise  will  do  anything 
to  impair  his  health  and  therefore  handicap  himself. 
Many  cigarette  smokers  are  not  aware  of  the  fact  that 
the  cigarette  is  harmful,  and  they  will  welcome  this 
authoritative  discussion.  It  isn't  a  question  of  opin- 
ion, but  a  question  of  facts  and  the  facts  seem  to  be 
against  the  cigarette. 


Efficiency  83 


Suggestive  Exercises 

Write  an  essay  of  one  hundred  words  showing 
how  you  would  increase  your  efficiency. 

Write  an  essay  of  one  hundred  words  on  the  value 
of  rendering  good  service. 


LESSON  IV. 


"fcTalue  of  ®tme 

Shall  we  have  clerks  and  order-takers,  mere  autom- 
atons— or  live  salesmen  who  can  create  business  and 
are  expert  advisers  f 

TEPPING  into  a  large  furniture  store  one 
day  to  make  a  purchase  and  while  waiting 
for  the  change  I  asked  an  idle  clerk,  a  man 
about  forty,  the  price  of  a  handsome  leather 
chair.  He  looked  it  all  over  for  the  tag, 
couldn't  find  it  and  said:  "Bill,  what  is  the 
price  of  this  chair?"  Bill  said,  "You  will  find  it 
marked  on  the  tag."  He  looked  again,  found  the  tag 
and  said,  "Fifty-nine  dollars."  That  is  all  he  had 
to  say  and  he  was  a  so-called  salesman  in  one  of  the 
finest  furniture  stores  on  this  continent. 

;C£Let  us  analyze  this  situation  just  a  little.  If 
;you  were  to  ask  this  man — I  will  not  say  salesman — 
to  make  a  scientific  study  of  salesmanship  he  would 
likely  tell  you  he  did  not  believe  in  it.  But  this 
same  man  spent  several  hours  each  day  in  that  furni- 
ture store  doing  absolutely  nothing.  When  I  came  in- 
to the  store  he  and  several  others  were  sitting  in  the 
corner  talking.  Instead  of  wasting  his  time  that  way 
let  us  suppose  he  had  been  making  a  careful  study  of 
every  piece  of  furniture  in  his  department.  In  that 
«ase  he  would  have  been  within  call  when  needed.  Let 
us  suppose  he  had  studied  the  price  of  every  article 

184] 


The  Value  of  Time  85 

in  the  room.  Then  suppose  he  had  gone  further  and 
found  out  where  each  article  was  manufactured,  just 
what  material  it  was  made  of,  what  was  the  process 
of  manufacturing  and  everything  which  he  could  possi- 
bly have  found  out  about  the  manufacture  of  this 
furniture.  He  would  have  had  to  write  the  factory 
for  some  of  this  information.  You  may  say  all 
this  would  have  required  some  time,  and  work,  and 
study.  The  reason  men  get  small  salaries  all  their 
lives  is  because  they  do  not  utilize  their  time  in  proper 
study.  And  then  when  a  crash  comes  they  are  out  in 
the  street  helpless. 

QLet  us  suppose  this  man  had  gone  still  further 
and  made  a  study  of  the  furniture  in  relation 
to  a  color  scheme,  either  in  a  home  or  office.  Then 
let  us  suppose  he  had  gotten  clear  over  on  his  cus- 
tomer's side  of  the  fence,  on  my  side  of  the  fence,  and 
taken  a  personal  interest  in  me.  He  could  have  in- 
duced me  to  sit  in  that  large  comfortable  chair  and 
suggested  the  comfort  I  would  get  out  of  such  a  chair 
at  home  in  the  evening;  how  easy  it  would  be  to 
enjoy  life  and  forget  my  cares  while  thus  resting. 
Or,  if  I  desired  to  study,  how  delightful  it  would  be  to 
sit  in  that  chair.  Why,  I  could  think  much  better 
thoughts.  I  could  think  out  more  ideas  in  one  hour 
while  sitting  in  that  chair  than  in  two  hours  in  any 
other  kind  of  a  chair.  Let  us  suppose  he  had  used  his 
imagination  and  made  me  feel  these  things  and  led  me 
to  believe  I  couldn't  afford  not  to  get  it,  and  then  had 
told  me  what  kind  of  leather  the  chair  was  made  of, 
how  it  was  tanned  and  how  durable  it  was  and  how  long 
it  would  last  me — but  he  didn't.  He  didn't  even  know 
the  price  of  the  chair.  This  incident  occurred  in  San 
Francisco  a  few  days  before  the  earthquake.  How 
competent  do  you  think  Bill  was  to  face  the  future 


86  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

'while  looking  into  the  ashes  of  his  employer's  store? 
It  is  any  wonder  someone  has  said,  "Not  one  sales- 
man in  a  hundred  behind  the  counter  is  any  good. ' ' 

(C£What  lesson  does  this  teach  us?  It  teaches  us 
that  we  must  systematise  our  work  and  waste  no  time. 
It  is  a  business  crime  to  be  idle  when  we  have  work 
to  do. 


Suggestive  Written  Exercises 

Write  one  hundred  words  on  the  value  of  time. 


LESSON  V. 


p  Zlmlptiiti 


N  beginning  this  study,  you  ask  the  ques- 
tion a  good  many  ask  who  say,  "What  is 
there  in  this  Science  of  Applied  Salesman- 
ship anyway?"  An  insurance  man  recent- 
ly said  to  me,  "There  is  absolutely  noth- 
ing to  salesmanship  but  a  knowledge  of  human 
nature."  He  was  partially  right.  But  the  average  man 
knows  very  little  about  human  nature.  The  ability 
to  thoroughly  understand  human  nature,  to  organize, 
manipulate,  and  control  it,  is  the  most  valuable  knowl- 
edge a  doctor,  lawyer,  preacher,  salesman  or  business 
man  can  have.  This  knowledge  cannot  be  gotten  by 
experience  alone.  It  requires  study.  But  a  knowledge 
of  human  nature  alone  will  no  more  make  a  man  a 
successful  salesman  than  it  will  make  him  a  successful 
lawyer.  He  must  learn  how  to  sell,  just  as  he  must 
learn  how  to  practice  law. 

What  Is  Salesmanship? 

C£  Salesmanship  is  the  power  to  convince.  Sales- 
manship is  the  power,  or  ability  to  influence  people 
to  buy  at  a  mutual  profit  that  which  we  hare  to  sell, 
but  that  ivhich  they  may  not  have  thought  of  buying 
until  we  called  their  attention  to  it. 

[87] 


88  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

,C[This  definition  brings  out  an  idea  which  joins 
honesty  and  business  in  an  indissoluble  union.  I  have 
reference  to  the  mutual  profit  idea.  Profit  means 
mutual  benefit.  Success  in  business  is  based  upon  this 
idea.  The  old  business  philosophy  as  practiced  by 
many  and  as  practiced  by  some  to-day,  had  as  its  cardi- 
nal principle:  "Do  the  other  fellow  and  do  him  first 
and  do  him  just  as  long  as  he  will  stand  for  it." 
Morally,  this  idea  is  wrong.  In  practice  it  leads  not 
only  to  failure  but  to  human  degradation. 

C£In  order  to  make  my  meaning  clearer,  I  will 
illustrate:  If  I  make  a  sale  and  make  all  the  profit, 
I  am  not  a  salesman,  I  am  a  robber.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  I  make  a  sale  and  you,  or  the  party  of  the 
second  part,  make  all  the  profit,  I  am  still  not  a 
salesman.  I  am  either  a  philanthropist,  an  adver- 
tiser or  a  fool.  A  sale  must  be  made  at  a  profit, 
or  it  is  not  a  sale,  but  a  service.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  sale  must  benefit  the  one  who  buys  or  it  is  tak- 
ing money  without  rendering  an  equivalent,  and  this 
is  robbery,  even  if  sanctioned  by  law. 

QThis  idea  of  mutual  benefit  goes  even  deeper; 
its  tap  root  is  embedded  in  the  very  heart  of  brother- 
ly love.  It  is  in  harmony  with  the  highest  develop- 
ment of  the  individual  and  of  humanity.  Its  outward 
manifestation  is  found  in  human  service.  The  highest 
type  of  service  is  shown  in  man's  desire  to  benefit  and 
help  his  fellows.  It  has  therefore  come  to  be  a  truism 
that  the  man  who  gives  the  best  service  makes  the 
most  profit.  In  other  words,  "The  man  who  serves 
best,  profits  most."  This  is  as  true  of  the  professions 
as  of  business.  The  highest  appreciation  as  well  as  the 
most  profit  should  be  given  to  the  man  who  serves  the 
public  best. 


Salesmanship  Analysis  89 

Salesmanship  is  the  Ability  to  Manipulate 
the  Other  Man's  Mind. 

C[My  next  definition  brings  out  a  different  idea. 
The  definition  follows:  Salesmanship  is  the  ability  to 
so  manipulate  the  other  man's  mind  as  to  make  him 
think  as  you  think,  feel  as  you  feel  and  act  as  you 
would  like  to  have  him  act.  This  definition  indicates 
that  the  salesman  has  a  training  in  logic,  psychology 
and  expression,  otherwise  he  would  not  be  able  to  ma- 
nipulate the  other  man's  mind.  It  also  indicates  that 
the  salesman  is  the  party  of  the  first  part,  and  that 
the  individual  or  group  he  is  talking  to  is  the  party 
of  the  second  part.  This  is  true  whether  the  party 
of  the  first  part  is  a  clerk  behind  the  counter,  a 
salesman  on  the  road,  a  lawyer  before  a  jury,  a 
Governor  of  a  State  or  a  President  of  the  United 
States,  seeking  an  election.  Don't  you  see  that  in 
each  case  the  party  of  the  first  part  is  doing  the  same 
identical  thing?  He  is  trying  to  convince  and  induce 
action  in  his  behalf. 

The  Ability  to  Influence,  the  Secret 
of  Success. 

C£We  now  discover  that  the  ability  to  influence 
is  the  secret  of  success,  and  that  every  man  and  woman 
in  the  country  is  a  salesman,  as  every  individual  has 
to  use  salesmanship  in  selling  his  services.  The  prin- 
ciples of  salesmanship  are  operating  in  every  trans- 
action wherever  it  is  necessary  for  one  individual  to 
influence  another. 

Salesmanship  a  Battle  of  Organized 
Knowledge. 

QThe  next  definition  broadens  our  vision  still 
more.  It  is  this:  Salesmanship  is  a  battle  of  organ- 


90  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

ized  knowledge  against  unorganized  ignorance.  Let  me 
illustrate:  I  was  very  much  interested  one  time  in 
"The  Horse  Fair"  by  Rosa  Bonheur  in  the  Vander- 
bilt  Art  Gallery  in  New  York  City.  These  beautiful 
horses  with  champing  bits  and  flowing  manes  were 
just  as  clear  in  the  mind's  eye  of  the  artist  before  the 
picture  was  painted  as  they  are  to  the  human  eye 
now.  And  why?  Her  art  was  organized  in  her  own 
mind;  all  she  had  to  do  was  to  transfer  the  picture 
from  her  mind  to  the  canvas.  The  doing  of  that  is 
what  we  call  art.  The  salesman  must  have  his  own 
knowledge  as  thoroughly  organized  as  the  artist.  He 
must  then  be  as  able  to  transfer  the  picture  from  his 
own  mind  to  the  mind  of  his  would-be  customer  as 
the  artist  is  able  to  transfer  the  picture  from  his  mind 
to  his  canvas. 

QThe  last  definition  is  more  complete  and  more 
scientific.  It  includes  both  the  man  side  and  the 
material  side  of  the  subject.  It  shows  that  man  must 
develop  his  positive  qualities  in  order  to  be  able  to 
lead  and  influence  to  a  maximum  degree.  The  defi- 
nition is  as  follows:  Salesmanship  is  that  power  or 
ability  which  is  the  product  of  the  development  of 
certain  positive  qualities  and  faculties,  and  which  en- 
ables its  possessor  to  influence  and  convince  a  large 
per  cent,  of  those  whom  he  solicits  to  buy  at  a  mutual 
profit  that  which  he  has  to  sell,  but  that  which  they 
may  not  have  thought  of  buying  until  he  called  their 
attention  to  it.  This  definition  includes  so  much  that 
it  will  take  several  lessons  to  really  make  its  meaning 
clear.  The  power  to  influence  and  convince  people  is 
not  only  the  result  of  the  development  of  certain  posi- 
tive qualities  and  faculties  in  the  salesman,  but  it 
is  the  result  of  a  great  deal  of  knowledge,  not  only 
in  regard  to  the  article  to  be  sold,  but  a  knowledge 


Salesmanship  Analysis  91 

of  commercial  conditions  in  general.  The  direct  re- 
sult of  the  development  of  these  brain  forces  is  char- 
acter; a  real  positive,  aggressive,  magnetic  and  dynam- 
ic character.  The  direct  result  of  character  is  the  power 
or  ability  to  influence. 

The  Study  of  Salesmanship — Fascinating 
as  Well  as  Practical. 

C[The  study  of  this  definition  leads  us  immediate- 
ly to  analyze  salesmanship.  In  making  a  sale  there  are 
four  factors  to  take  into  consideration,  viz: 

QThe  Salesman,  the  Prospective  Cus- 
tomer, the  Article  to  be  Sold,  and  the  Sale 
Itself. 

QWe  must  analyze  these  four  factors.  In  analyz- 
ing the  salesman  we  divide  him  into  three  parts,  viz: 
the  physical,  the  mental  and  the  spiritual. 

C£No  man  can  expect  to  make  much  of  a  success 
who  has  not  good  health.  The  body  is  the  dwelling 
place  of  the  mind.  A  strong  mind  is  not  possible 
without  a  strong  body.  The  salesman,  whether  behind 
the  counter  or  on  the  road,  who  moves  about  with  vim 
and  vigor,  whose  eye  flashes  and  whose  every  motion 
denotes  energy,  who  walks  with  head  erect  and  shoul- 
ders thrown  back,  inspires  confidence  and  courage  and 
can  get  business  where  the  weak  man  fails. 

C[In  analyzing  the  mind  we  find  that  in  reality  there 
are  two  minds,  the  objective  or  reasoning  mind — the 
mind  which  makes  use  of  the  five  senses — and  the  sub- 
jective mind.  The  subjective  mind  is  the  seat  of  the 
emotions  and  the  finer  sensibilities.  It  is  the  abiding 
place  of  the  soul.  The  subjective  mind  can  only  rea- 
son deductively,  while  the  objective  mind  reasons  both 
inductively  and  deductively.  The  subjective  mind  is 


92  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

the  seat  of  love,  joy,  patriotism,  religion,  ambition, 
intuition  and  many  of  those  qualities  which  mean  most 
to  the  salesman.  Too  many  salesmen  state  their 
proposition  to  the  objective  mind  alone.  Their  argu- 
ment is  directed  solely  to  the  head  when,  if  they  only 
knew  it,  their  appeal  to  the  heart  would  be  far  more 
effective.  A  salesman  should  state  his  proposition  in 
such  a  way  as  to  appeal  to  the  reason.  But  his  solar- 
plexus  blow,  his  real  appeal,  is  made  to  the  heart. 

C£  Suggestion  is,  in  my  mind,  one  of  the  most 
powerful  factors  in  salesmanship.  It  is  a  marvelous 
power  and  that  power  is  exercised  through  the  sub- 
jective mind,  the  mind  that  never  sleeps.  "We  cannot 
devote  space  in  this  lesson  to  discuss  suggestion  and 
auto  suggestion  so  they  will  be  taken  up  in  a  later 
lesson.  The  man  who  understands  this  great  power 
of  suggestion  can  not  only  double  his  income  but  his 
influence.  A  suggestion  is  made  to  the  objective  mind; 
the  objective  mind  conveys  it  to  the  subjective  mind, 
and  the  subjective  mind  tends  to  produce  action.  You 
may  make  a  proposition  to  a  man  to-day  and  it  will 
have  no  effect  upon  him.  The  suggestion  is  lodged  in 
his  subjective  mind.  He  cannot  shake  it  off.  To-night 
while  his  objective  minds  sleeps  the  subjective  mind 
considers  the  suggestion.  To-morrow  he  has  changed 
his  mind  and  comes  around  to  your  way  of  thinking 
because  he  could  not  help  himself.  But  the  salesman 
must  understand  suggestion  and  understand  just  how 
to  properly  give  this  suggestion,  if  it  is  to  have  the 
proper  effect. 

Salesmanship  Covers  a  Vast  Field. 

QThis  subject  of  salesmanship  is  such  a  broad 
one  that  it  is  impossible  to  do  more  in  this  lesson 
than  touch  some  of  its  many  and  varied  phases.  Sales- 


Salesmanship  Analysis  93 

manship  not  only  covers  the  work  done  by  the  man 
behind  the  counter,  or  the  one  who  goes  from  door  to 
door,  or  from  office  to  office;  but  it  enters  into  all  the 
activities  of  the  selling  end  of  business.  It  does  more 
than  that;  its  roots  permeate  every  avenue  of  the 
factory  and  go  clear  back  and  are  deeply  imbedded  in 
the  subsoil  of  the  producer. 

C£  Advertising  is  one  form  of  salesmanship.  It 
is  salesmanship  by  the  literary  method.  The  princi- 
ples which  hold  good  in  salesmanship  are  also  funda- 
mental in  advertising.  Business-getting  letters  are 
purely  salesmanship  by  another  form.  Strange  as  it 
may  be,  many  salesmen  who  seem  to  understand  how 
to  arouse  the  interest  in  a  personal  interview  forget, 
when  writing  a  letter,  to  use  the  same  method.  The 
man  who  has  mastered  the  science  of  selling  by  per- 
sonal contact,  by  letter  writing  and  by  advertising, 
wields  a  power  that  few  possess. 

C[ Knowledge  is  the  basis  for  all  action.  The 
man  who  acts  does  so  because  he  knows  and  feels. 
Action  is  always  the  result  of  knowledge.  Enthusiasm 
is  the  direct  result  of  intelligence.  An  individual  must 
know  in  order  to  do.  So  let  us  dig  down  a  little 
deeper  and  consider  four  more  factors.  These  four 
factors  are  so  broad  that  they  cover  the  whole  field 
of  business  activity.  They  are  as  follows:  The  pro- 
ducer, the  manufacturer,  the  trader  or  salesman,  and 
the  consumer. 

QThe  producer  may  be  a  Chinaman  who  produces 
silk  from  the  worm.  He  may  be  a  Southern  cotton 
raiser  who  produces  the  raw  cotton.  In  either  case,  his 
raw  product  is  sold  to  the  local  dealer,  from  him  it 
goes  on  to  the  larger  dealer  and  from  there  to  the 
factory.  From  the  factory  it  goes  to  the  (jobber  or 


94  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

wholesaler,  from  him  to  the  retailer,  and  from  the  re- 
tailer to  the  consumer. 

C[The  merchant  and  salesman  of  the  future  will 
understand,  as  far  as  possible,  every  process  through 
which  this  material  goes  from  the  time  it  leaves  the 
producer  until  it  is  sold  finally  to  the  consumer.  The 
salesman — and  when  I  say  salesman  let  it  be  under- 
stood that  I  consider  every  man  who  has  handled  these 
goods  a  salesman,  from  the  producer  who  sold  them 
first,  to  the  retailer  who  finally  sold  them  to  the  con- 
sumer— the  salesman  who  understands  all  these  pro- 
cesses together  with  the  processes  of  manufacture,  as 
far  as  it  is  possible  for  him  to  learn  them,  knows  what 
he  is  talking  about.  When  he  is  selling  a  suit  of 
clothes,  he  will  know  just  what  they  are  made  of  and 
something  about  the  weave  formation.  He  will  be  able 
to  give  the  customer  expert  advice  in  regard  to  them. 
He  will  be  able  to  give  him  the  reasons  why.  His  aim 
will  be  not  only  to  satisfy  the  customer  then,  but  to 
have  that  satisfaction  continue  until  the  goods  are 
worn  out,  so  that  the  customer  will  return  again  for 
another  suit. 

C[Let  us  remember  that  no  salesman  can  be  en- 
thusiastic over  selling  anything  unless  he  thoroughly 
understands  it.  The  salesman  who  knows  and  is  en- 
thusiastic, other  things  being  equal,  is  the  one  who 
gets  the  results.  Let  us  suppose  our  salesperson  is 
selling  lace.  This  point  was  brought  up  in  one  of 
our  classes  in  San  Francisco  by  the  head  of  a  de- 
partment in  a  large  store,  who  was  one  of  our  students. 
He  wanted  to  know  what  good  it  would  do  for  the 
saleswoman  to  know  where  the  lace  was  made  or  how  it 
was  made.  He  said  she  might  have  three  different 
kinds  of  lace  before  her  when  the  customer  came  in. 
The  customer  didn't  know  the  difference  between  lace 


Salesmanship  Analysis  95 

manufactured  in  Zion  City,  in  England,  or  in  any  other 
part  of  the  world  and  neither  did  the  saleswoman,  and 
he  didn't  see  why  she  needed  to  know.  The  reply  to 
that  question  is  very  simple.  The  aim  of  the  sales- 
person should  be  to  act  as  an  expert  adviser  to  his  or 
her  customer.  How  can  the  salesman  be  an  expert 
adviser  if  he  doesn't  know?  Furthermore,  how  can  he 
have  any  interest  in  the  article,  or  any  enthusiasm 
in  making  the  sale  if  he  doesn't  know?  This  same 
principle  holds  good  no  matter  what  you  are  selling. 
It  is  fundamental.  Just  stop  a  moment,  my  reader, 
and  apply  this  test  to  the  work  you  are  doing  and  see 
how  nicely  it  will  fit.  Once  we  learn  the  fundamental 
principles  of  salesmanship  and  learn  how  to  apply 
them,  we  are  in  a  fair  way  to  master  this  great  Science 
of  Distribution. 

C£In  studying  this  great  subject  we  take  excur- 
sions into  nearly  all  the  fields  of  learning  and  of  life. 
We  must  make  a  scientific  study  of  man,  and  a  scien- 
tific study  of  selling,  and  a  scientific  study  of  the 
goods,  so  you  see  this  study  of  salesmanship  is  not 
only  broad  and  deep  but  very  interesting.  In  study- 
ing the  individual  we  are  led  into  making  a  scientific 
study  of  human  nature.  "We  are  obliged  to  call  to 
our  aid  the  principles  of  logic,  of  psychology,  of  phil- 
osophy and  of  ethics. 

First  Principles  in  Selling. 

QMany  salesmen  have  never  thought  there  was 
such  a  thing  as  a  psychology  of  selling,  a  series  of 
mental  processes  through  which  the  mind  of  their  cus- 
tomer must  be  taken  before  the  sale  was  consum- 
mated. I  have  asked  many  of  them,  and  some  who 
were  college  graduates,  how  they  make  a  sale  and  they 
said  they  didn  't  know — they  just  made  it — if  they  could. 


96  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

If  I  were  to  ask  a  physician  what  he  would  do  in 
treating  a  case  of  diphtheria  he  would  soon  tell  me. 
If  I  were  to  ask  a  lawyer  what  kind  of  a  brief  he  would 
make  out  in  preparing  to  defend  a  man  accused  of 
murder,  he  could  easily  tell  me  as  soon  as  he  had  all 
the  facts  in  the  case.  If  I  were  to  ask  a  famous  pianist 
how  he  became  noted  he  would  tell  me  he  first  made 
a  study  of  the  underlying  principles  of  music,  of  har- 
mony and  when  that  was  done  he  practiced.  But  when 
a  salesman  is  asked  how  he  makes  a  sale  he  says  he 
just  makes  it — if  he  can. 

The  Seven  Mental  Processes. 

QHere  are  the  seven  mental  processes  though 
which  the  mind  of  the  prospective  customer  must  be 
taken  before  the  sale  is  made: 

C[ First, — He  must  be  met;  the  introduction 
is  the  first  step. 

C[  Second, — His  attention  must  be  attracted  toward 
the  article  to  be  sold.  To  do  this  the  salesman  must  be 
able  to  create  an  immediate  favorable  mental  sensation 
in  the  Prospective  Customer's  mind.  The  reason  many 
salesmen  do  not  get  a  hearing  is  because  they  are  un- 
able to  create  this  favorable  mental  sensation  im- 
mediately. 

C£  Third, — The  salesman  must  arouse  the  Pros- 
pective Customer's  interest. 

C£  Fourth, — He  must  convince  him  that  it  is  to 
his  advantage. 

fl[  Fifth, — He  must  create  his  desire  for  it. 

C[  Sixth, — He  must  make  his  prospective  customer 
resolve  to  get  it. 

C[  Seventh, — And  most  important,  he  must  know 
how  to  close  the  order. 


Salesmanship  Analysis  97 

(TMany  salesmen  succeed  in  doing  six-sevenths 
of  the  work  very  well  but  fail  on  the  last  seventh. 

C£Each  one  of  these  processes  is  separate  and  dis- 
tinct. The  man  who  does  not  understand  them  and 
understand  just  how  to  carry  his  customer  through 
each  step  is  simply  working  at  random.  Remember 
that  to  fail  in  handling  one  step  is  to  fail  in  all  of 
them.  You  may  do  everything  but  fail  to  produce 
an  absolute  conviction  as  to  the  value  of  the  product, 
and  that  one  little  failure  will  cost  you  the  sale.  Re- 
member that  no  chain  is  stronger  than  its  weakest 
link;  and  remember  that  all  the  mental  processes  are 
no  stronger  than  the  weakest  one.  In  other  words, — 
your  ability  to  handle  all  the  mental  processes  is  no 
stronger  than  your  ability  to  handle  the  one  you 
are  least  able  to  handle.  No  mental  process  is  stronger 
than  its  weakest  mental  link.  Faliure,  therefore,  may 
be  the  result  of  a  little  weakness.  BEWARE  OF 
THAT  LITTLE  WEAKNESS! 

Get  on  Customer's  Side  of  Fence. 

C£  While  these  processes  will  be  discussed  fully 
in  future  lessons,  we  wish  to  call  attention  to  one 
or  two  interesting  features  here.  The  first  thing  for 
a  salesman  to  do  is  to  get  over  on  the  customer's  side 
of  the  fence.  This  is  very  vital.  Your  prospective 
customer  doesn't  care  one  cent  for  you  or  for  what 
you  have  to  sell  until  you  can  show  him  that  you  have 
something  that  will  benefit  him.  Your  customer  is 
not  working  himself  gray-headed  for  his  health.  He 
is  doing  it  for  what  there  is  in  it,  for  money  to  sup- 
port himself,  or  himself  and  family.  The  first  state- 
ment you  make  to  this  man  must  be  a  statement  which 
you  know  will  interest  him.  That  statement  won't 
be  about  yourself  and  it  won't  be  about  your  goods. 


98  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

The  patent  medicine  ad  is  a  good  illustration  of  this. 
It  just  makes  a  man  feel  sure  he  has  consumption. 
When  it  has  done  that  the  poor  victim  will  ask  for 
a  remedy.  If  you  can  prove  to  a  man  that  a  certain 
proposition  will  enable  him  to  earn  a  good  per  cent, 
on  his  investment  he  will  ask  you  what  it  is  and  where 
he  can  get  it.  If  you  first  try  to  sell  him  such  an 
invention  he  will  laugh  at  you.  You  must  first  create 
his  desire  for  what  you  have  to  sell  before  you  begin 
your  appeal. 

C£0nly  a  few  salesmen  have  the  right  concep- 
tion of  just  how  to  become  salesmen.  No  man  can 
become  a  great  artist,  a  great  musician  or  a  great 
orator  who  works  contrary  to  the  laws  of  nature. 
Trained  men  have  studied  the  action  of  the  human 
mind  for  centuries  and  they  have  worked  out  what 
is  called  psychology,  which  ie  a  study  of  mind,  a  study 
of  the  mental  processes.  Every  salesman  should  make 
a  study  of  psychology  because  he  is  succeeding  only 
as  he  is  working  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  the 
human  mind.  He  may  break  a  good  many  of  those 
laws  and  still  make  a  fair  success,  but  if  he  disregards 
too  many  of  them  he  will  end  in  failure  and  the  worst 
of  it  is  he  doesn't  know  why.  "The  Science  of  Ap- 
plied Salesmanship"  applies  the  principles  of  logic 
and  psychology  in  making  every  conceivable  kind  of 
a  sale,  but  it  does  vastly  more  than  that.  Our  aim  has 
been  to  teach  the  student  the  fundamental  principles 
of  salesmanship  and  psychology  so  that  he  would  al- 
ways know  how  to  so  organize  his  own  mind  that  he 
might  work  in  harmony  with  and  take  advantage  of 
nature's  laws  as  they  govern  the  human  mind. 

C£My  teacher  of  oratory,  who  is  himself  a  bril- 
liant orator  and  lecturer,  told  me  once  that  no  lec- 
turer could  prepare  a  good  lecture  in  less  than  two 


Salesmanship  Analysis  99 

years — a  lecture  that  would  stand  the  test  and  win 
popular  favor.  A  lecture  is  after  all  simply  a  selling 
talk  that  produces  results.  If  a  lecturer  must  spend 
in  the  neighborhood  of  two  years  preparing  his  sell- 
ing talk  before  the  public  will  accept  it,  and  pay  him 
from  fifty  to  a  hundred  dollars  a  night  for  it,  how  ir» 
the  world  do  you  expect  to  win  maximum  success  as 
a  salesman  after  spending  but  a  few  days  at  best  on 
your  argument? 

Arguments  Scientifically  Prepared 
Get  Business. 

C£The  first  thing  you  must  do  is  to  prepare  your 
material.  When  you  have  that  done  you  must  analyze; 
it  and  organize  it.  You  must  remember  that  your  cus- 
tomer's mind  is  a  blank  to  your  proposition.  If  you 
would  create  a  perfectly  clear  picture  in  the  mind  of 
your  customer,  that  picture  must  first  stand  out  clearly 
and  distinctly  in  your  own  mind.  If  the  picture  of  the 
sale  you  wish  to  make  is  in  a  hodge-podge,  unanalyzed 
condition  in  your  own  mind,  your  prospective  cus- 
tomer will  get  a  muddy,  hodge-podge  idea  of  it  and,  of 
course,  you  will  neither  create  his  desire  nor  arouse 
his  conviction. 

C[  There  is  a  good  and  a  best  way  to  present 
every  argument.  You  can't  expect  to  sell  many  goods 
until  you  have  built  up  such  a  logical  selling  talk  and 
know  how  to  present  it  in  such  an  earnest,  enthus- 
iastic manner  as  to  thoroughly  convince  your 
prospective  customer  as  you  go  along.  Before  you 
approach  your  customer  you  must  have  your  argu- 
ments so  logically  arranged  that  they  stand  out  as 
clear  as  crystal  in  your  own  mind.  If  an  objection1 
comes  up  it  should  be  disposed  of  at  once,  but  the 


100          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

talk  should  be  so  clear  and  convincing  as  to  antici- 
pate and  answer  any  possible  objection  before  it  is 
made. 

QOne  great  value  of  committing  a  selling  talk  to 
memory  lies  in  the  fact  that  such  an  argument  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  best  argument,  one  that  is  getting 
the  best  results,  and  an  argument  which  is  logical  de- 
velops a  logical  mind  in  the  one  who  commits  it  and 
uses  it.  No  man  can,  or  should,  expect  great  success 
as  a  salesman  until  he  so  learns  the  laws  of  the  human 
mind,  the  great  principles  of  logic  and  psychology,  that 
he  can  prepare  and  present  a  logical  argument  him- 
.self,  and  know  just  what  kind  of  an  argument  is  need- 
ed in  order  to  produce  conviction.  A  good  salesman, 
a  good  talker,  must  first  be  a  clear  thinker.  Remem- 
ber always  that  your  customer's  mind  is  a  blank. 
Think  of  yourself  as  an  artist.  Remember  that  an 
artist  sees  the  completed  picture  in  his  mind's  eye, 
liis  imagination,  before  he  begins  to  paint.  He 
sketches  the  outline  first  and  then  begins  to  fill  it  in. 
If  he  daubed  on  the  paint  promiscuously  he  would 
spoil  the  picture;  a  little  touch  here  and  a  red  line 
there  puts  life  and  reality  into  the  picture  and  soon 
it  stands  out  as  plain  and  natural  to  the  onlooker  as 
it  first  appeared  to  the  painter.  The  aim  of  the  sales- 
man should  be  to  paint  his  picture  on  the  human  mind 
with  the  skill  of  the  artist;  every  argument  should 
come  in  the  right  place.  The  salesman  should  not 
present  his  strongest  points  first  as  that  might  excite 
suspicion.  He  should  work  up  to  a  final  climax. 

C[The  student  should  study  this  course  in  the 
same  way.  He  should  become  thoroughly  grounded 
in  the  basic  principles  first,  in  order  to  thoroughly 
understand  and  appreciate  the  framework  later  on. 


Salesmanship  Analysis  101 

(TNo  salesman  can  become  a  good  talker  until 
he  first  becomes  a  clear  and  logical  thinker.  He  must 
know  his  goods,  he  must  have  his  knowledge  analyzed 
and  know  how  to  present  it  simply,  clearly  and  logic- 
ally. He  cannot  do  this  unless  he  develops  a  logical 
mind  and  becomes  a  clear  thinker.  With  this  as  a 
basis  he  can,  with  the  aid  of  trained  expression,  be- 
come a  great  salesman. 

iC£The  schools  and  churches,  and  places  of  public 
entertainment  might  close  for  one  month  and  there 
would  be  little  suffering,  but  let  the  salesmen  of  the 
world  all  go  on  a  strike  for  one  month  and  the  in- 
dustries of  the  whole  round  world  would  be  paralyzed. 
The  salesman  supplies  the  necessities  of  life ;  he  is  one* 
of  the  world's  greatest  civilizers  and  educators. 

A  Group  of  Suggestive  Paragraphs. 

CTThe  salesman  convinces  the  customer  when  he 
makes  him  see  the  situation  as  he  sees  it;  just  as  the 
lawyer  convinces  the  jury  when  he  makes  them  see 
the  crime  as  he  sees  it.  Merely  pounding  away  at  a 
man  will  not  convince  him.  To  convince  a  man  you 
must  make  him  believe  what  you  believe.  To  do  this 
you  must  give  him  the  same  evidence  which  compelled 
your  conviction. 

QCan  you  so  express  your  thought  that  your 
customer  will  see  the  same  mental  picture  you  see  and 
feel  the  same  conviction  you  feel?  We  convert  men 
to  believe  as  we  believe,  not  by  urging  them  but  by  giv- 
ing them  the  evidence,  the  reasons,  in  such  vivid  lan- 
guage, so  logically  arranged,  so  skillfully  organized 
and  grouped  and  with  so  much  burning  enthusiasm 
that  they  appeal  to  the  imagination,  the  mind's  eye, 
as  vividly  as  a  work  of  art  appeals  to  the  human  eye. 


102          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 


on't  try  to  get  the  order  until  you  have  your 
prospective  purchaser  convinced.  Thousands  of  orders 
are  lost  by  so  doing.  If  you  do  by  chance  get  his  order 
before  he  is  thoroughly  convinced,  he  may  back  out 
later.  When  a  man  is  under  the  power  of  conviction  he 
is  bound  to  act.  Convince  him. 

QWhen  trying  to  sell  an  individual  goods  never 
make  a  negative  suggestion  to  him.  Untold  thousands 
of  dollars'  worth  of  sales  are  lost  in  this  way.  If  you 
are  showing  him  hats  and  think  you  might  sell  him  a 
panama  don't  say,  "I  don't  suppose  you  would  want  a 
panama?"  How  do  you  expect  to  sell  a  panama  if 
you  suggest  to  him  that  he  doesn't  want  it?  Instead 
you  might  say,  "I  have  some  handsome  panama  hats 
here  that  I  consider  very  fine." 

Q  Don't  say  to  a  person  when  showing  an  arti- 
cle, "That  doesn't  look  bad."  It  would  be  better  to 
say,  "That  looks  very  fine."  When  you  think  he  has 
bought  all  he  desires  don't  say,  "Now  will  that  be  all?" 
This  is  a  suggestion  that  it  is  all  he  wants.  It  is  bet- 
ter to  say,  "Now  what  else?"  or,  "Isn't  there  something 
else  you  would  like?"  This  last  induces  the  mind  of 
the  customer  to  think  of  what  else  he  might  want.  Al- 
ways ask  the  question  in  a  positive  manner. 

CT  Many  insurance  men  are  bores,  not  because  they 
do  not  understand  insurance  but  because  they  do  not 
understand  the  human  mind.  They  continually  say, 
"Take  some  insurance;  you  ought  to  have  some  insur- 
ance." They  might  just  as  well  go  out  and  bay 
at  the  moon.  They  don't  seem  to  realize  that  the  pros- 
pect's mind  is  an  absolute  blank  as  far  as  insurance  is 
concerned;  just  as  much  a  blank  as  a  painter's  canvas 
before  the  painter  applies  the  brush.  The  insurance 
man  must  learn  how  to  sketch  the  picture  of  insurance 
on  the  blank  mind  of  his  customer  with  as  much  skill 


Salesmanship  Analysis  103 

as  the  artist  uses  on  his  canvas.  He  paints  in  vivid  and 
brilliant  colors  the  customer's  duties  to  his  wife  and 
family.  He  draws  in  brilliant  lines  the  value  of  his 
particular  policy.  Stroke  by  stroke  he  fills  in  the  pic- 
ture until  finally  his  prospect  sees  the  need  for  insur- 
ance just  as  clearly  as  the  salesman.  Conviction  has 
been  produced  and  the  policy  is  issued. 

Q  Imagination  is  the  image-making  power  of  the 
human  mind.  Imagination  is  the  seat  of  constructive- 
ness.  Our  great  railroads  and  steamships  and  factories 
and  corporations  and  inventions  were  at  one  time  sim- 
ply air  castles  of  the  imagination.  The  man  who  builds 
no  air  castles,  who  dreams  no  dreams,  who  sees  no 
great  possibilities  for  himself  in  the  future,  who  does 
not  think  of  himself  as  one  of  the  leaders  in  some  great 
enterprise  in  the  future,  will  in  all  probability  never  be 
a  leader.  Columbus  discovered  a  new  world  by  using 
his  imagination.  The  student  who  reads  and  studies 
these  lessons  should  feel  hourly  and  daily  that  this  Sci- 
ence of  Applied  Salesmanship  will  enable  him  to  ascend 
the  ladder  which  leads  to  great  success.  He  should 
daily  suggest  to  himself  that  he  can  and  will  become  a 
great  business  man,  and  a  great  leader.  If  he  does  this 
he  will  see  himself  day  by  day  growing  into  the  image 
which  his  imagination  created. 

C[  Imagination,  Will,  Eeason  and  Judgment  are 
primal  faculties  of  the  human  brain  and  can  be  devel- 
oped by  proper  use.  Of  all  the  faculties  of  the  human 
mind  the  "Will"  means  most  to  the  salesman.  The 
man  of  aggressive  determination  can  compel  himself 
to  do  whatever  he  desires  to  do.  There  is  the  aggressive 
will,  the  punctual  will,  the  conquering  will,  the  dogged, 
persistent  will,  the  assent-compelling  will,  and  the  tact- 
ful or  diplomatic  will  which  enables  one  to  adjust  him- 


104          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

self  to  another,  who  may  be  distasteful  to  him,  for  the 
other's  pleasure  and  their  mutual  profit. 

C£The  traveling  salesman  of  the  future  must  not 
only  know  his  goods  and  how  to  sell  them,  his  custom- 
ers and  how  to  convince  them,  but  he  must  be  a  travel- 
ing educator  in  addition.  Our  salesman  must  know 
how  to  teach  the  merchant  the  best  methods  of  selling 
goods.  In  this  way  the  merchant  will  sell  more  goods, 
the  salesman  will  sell  more  goods,  the  house  will  sell 
more  goods  and  they  will  all  profit  by  it.  The  salesman 
who  knows  how  and  acts  upon  this  suggestion  will  find 
competition  dwindling  to  the  diminishing  point.  Who 
wants  to  quit  dealing  with  a  salesman  who  has  business- 
getting  ideas  to  offer  free  of  charge  ? 

C[The  greatest  salesman  is  the  one  who  is  learn- 
ing all  the  time  and  thinking  all  the  time,  continually 
digging  deeper  into  his  subject  for  better  ideas  and  bet- 
ter arguments.  The  cry  of  the  hour  is  for  a  broader 
knowledge  and  more  thoroughness. 

,01  The  ability  to  use  the  English  language  well  is 
one  of  the  great  objects  of  a  true  education.  A  sales- 
man should  continually  study  to  improve  his  English, 
and  his  method  of  expression.  He  should  strive  to  in- 
crease his  vocabulary.  Nothing  so  marks  the  man  of 
good  education  as  his  ability  to  use  good  English  and 
give  good  expression  to  it. 

C[  Inability  to  close  an  order  to-day — now — is  the 
millstone  around  the  neck  of  nearly  every  salesman. 
Men  and  women  refuse  to  decide  to-day — they  want  to 
put  it  off.  After  making  your  plea  and  coming  up  to 
the  order  point  you  may  be  met  by  this  common  objec- 
tion :  ' '  "Well,  I  will  think  it  over  and  let  you  know  in 
a  few  days."  The  salesman  who  can  produce  convic- 
tion and  compel  decision  immediately  is  earning  a  large 


Salesmanship  Analysis  105 

salary.  The  following  line  of  argument  is  very  effective 
in  meeting  this  objection : 

QI  appreciate  your  desire  to  give  the  mat- 
ter further  thought,  but  you  are  really  better 
prepared  to  make  a  decision  to-day  than  you 
will  be  in  a  week  from  now.  You  see  we  have 
talked  over  every  point  carefully.  The  points 
are  clearer  in  your  mind  now  than  they  wUl 
be  later.  Your  good  judgment  tells  you  that 
to  decide  NOW  is  the  wise  thing  to  do.  It 
may  take  a  little  courage  on  your  part  to  do 
it.  You  know  it  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the 
world  to  put  off  making  a  decision.  But  you 

will  agree  with  me,  Mr. ,  that  one  of  the 

strongest  characteristics  of  successful  men  is 
their  ability  to  decide  and  act  after  once  de- 
ciding that  it  is  the  wise  thing  to  do;  and  that 
is  just  what  you  are  going  to  do.  Your  judg- 
ment and  intelligence  tell  you  this  is  the  thing 
you  ought  to  do;  your  feelings  and  best  in- 
terests make  you  realize  it.  It  is  only  neces- 
sary now  for  your  will  to  act  and  that 
can  be  done  by  putting  your  name  on  this  line 
right  here. 

QThe  best  way  to  defeat  competition  is  not  to 
talk  about  it.  Do  all  your  talking  about  your  own 
proposition.  Remember  that  every  knock  is  a  boost. 
I  believe  in  elimination  by  substitution.  Eliminate 
the  other  fellow's  proposition  by  putting  up  one  which 
is  so  much  better  that  your  prospective  customer  will 
forget  all  about  what  the  other  salesman  said. 

,C£  Watch  every  minute  in  the  day  as  carefully 
as  if  it  were  actual  money.  You  would  have  a  man 


106          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

arrested  who  deliberately  stole  your  money  but  how 
often  do  you  permit  your  friends  to  steal  your  time, 
and  how  often  do  you  permit  yourself  to  idle  away  an 
hour  without  accomplishing  anything. 

C£  Remember  that  good  appearance,  good  person- 
ality, aggressiveness,  enthusiasm,  earnestness,  sincerity, 
and  hard  work  will  work  wonders. 

,C[  Cheerfulness,  courtesy,  and  tact  are  the  lubri- 
cators of  business.  Cultivate  a  smile  and  a  cheerful 
countenance.  It  pays. 

,0^1  care  not  whether  you  have  much  or  little 
talent  for  selling  goods,  the  only  way  you  will  ever 
make  a  great  success  as  a  salesman  is  to  carefully 
and  assiduously  study  the  science  and  art  of  sales- 
manship and  put  into  practice  at  the  first  opportunity 
the  new  ideas  you  have  learned.  Thousands  of  sales- 
men cannot  originate  first-class  business-getting  ideas 
but  they  can  use  to  great  advantage  ideas  which  have 
been  originated  by  others.  One  aim  of  this  course  is 
to  furnish  salesmen  with  some  of  the  best  selling  argu- 
ments ever  originated,  but  another  and  larger  aim  is 
to  teach  salesmen  how  to  originate  and  how  to  use 
first-class  business-getting  arguments  of  their  own. 

iQMen  in  this  day  and  age  haven't  time  to  hear 
long  arguments  and  long  debates.  Boil  down  what  you 
have  to  say.  Remember  that  ideas  sell  goods  always, 
but  long  drawn-out  words  never  do.  Be  brief  and  to 
the  point.  Try  your  best  to  make  your  sale  at  the  first 
interview.  First  sell  the  article  to  yourself.  Be- 
lieve in  it.  Believe  in  your  company  and  believe  in 
yourself.  Be  full  of  conviction,  then  you  will  saturate 
your  argument  with  conviction.  Determine  always  to 
make  the  sale  now.  Let  your  mental  attitude  be  one 
of  positive  conviction. 


Salesmanship  Analysis  107 

,(£  Lincoln  took  up  the  study  of  geometry  when  in 
the  midst  of  a  busy  life  in  order  that  he  might  be 
more  logical  in  answering  the  arguments  of  his 
adversaries.  If  the  study  of  salesmanship  ever 
appears  dry  to  you  remember  the  value  which  the 
great  Lincoln  derived  from  studying  a  subject  as  dry 
as  geometry.  Our  success  is  largely  ioi  proportion  to 
the  efforts  we  put  forth.  By  putting  forth  great  ef- 
forts we  will  accomplish  great  results. 

C£  There  is  a  science  of  salesmanship  and  there 
is  an  art  of  salesmanship.  They  are  both  vital,  es- 
sential, and  distinctly  separate  from  one  another. 
Science,  according  to  Herbert  Spencer,  means  "Organ- 
ized knowledge."  Science  as  it  relates  to  salesman- 
ship means  the  organization,  correlating,  and  system- 
atizing of  the  principles  of  salesmanship  which  have 
stood  the  test  of  reason  and  experience.  Art  consists 
in  doing.  As  it  relates  to  salesmanship,  art  is  the 
application,  or  making  such  use  of  the  scientific  prin- 
ciples of  salesmanship  as  to  gain  the  largest  measure 
of  success,  or  make  the  highest  possible  percentage  of 
sales  to  those  solicited. 

G[  Every  successful  salesman,  whether  consciously 
or  unconsciously,  uses  some  of  the  scientific  principles 
of  salesmanship,  but  not  being  understood  they  are 
used  at  random  and  the  results  are  uncertain.  A  clear 
understanding  of  the  science  of  salesmanship,  and  the 
best  methods  of  applying  that  knowledge  produces  dou- 
ble the  results  with  half  the  effort. 

,C£In  this  lesson  we  have  stated  some  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  salesmanship,  but  the  corner- 
stone upon  which  this  beautiful  super-structure  must 
rest  is  character.  The  finest  trained  mind  in  all  the 
world  is  simply  a  mockery  if  it  is  not  builded  on  the  solid 
rock  of  character.  Of  what  value  is  a  brilliant  intel- 


108          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

lect,  a  great  fortune,  and  national  fame,  if  the  guilt 
of  grafting  drives  its  owner  to  a  premature  grave? 
Such  a  life  is  worse  than  wasted.  When  young  men 
learn  that  trickery,  crooked  dealing  and  graft  are  in 
every  case  absolutely  suicidal,  and  that  true  and  last- 
ing success  never  has  and  never  will  be  builded  on 
anything  less  than  absolute  old-fashioned  honesty,  they 
have  taken  the  first  step  toward  a  successful  and  self- 
satisfying  career. 


Salesmanship  Analysis  109 


Suggestive  Exercises 

1.  How  should  a  clerk  best  occupy  his  idle  time 
in  a  store  f 

2.  What  do  you  expect  to  gain  from  this  study  f 

3.  What  is  salesmanship? 

4.  How  many  factors  enter  into  the  making  of 
a  sale? 

5.  What  have  you  to  say  about  health  as  it  re- 
lates to  success  in  business? 

6.     What  do  you  believe  the  study  of  this  subject 
will  do  for  you? 

7.  In  making   an  exhaustive  study   of  business, 
what  four  classes  of  business  men  do  we  discover? 

8.  What  can  you  say  about  selling  goods  which 
the  salesman  knows  nothing  about? 

9.  Why  should  a  salesman  work  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  the  human  mind? 

10.  What  can  you  say  about  holding  the  picture 
of  the  sale  in  your  own  mind? 

11.  Why  should  a  salesman  commit  a  selling  talk 
to  memory? 

12.  What  is  the   difference   between  science   and 
art? 

13.  Write  a  fifty  word  essay  on  how  you  would 
introduce  yourself  and  apply  for  a  position. 


LESSON  VI. 


jfflental 


GREAT  thinker  has  said,  "The  greatest  of 
all  industries  is  the  making  of  men,  to 
strengthen,  ennoble,  and  render  mighty  the 
race  of  human  intelligence.  The  rational 
mode  of  procedure  must  depend  upon  a 
knowledge  of  the  faculties  of  the  mind  and  the  most 
effective  condition  for  their  employment."  To  do  this 
we  must  study  and  think.  Theodore  Roosevelt  said 
in  one  of  his  foreign  lectures,  "Now  I  am  fifty  years 
old,  and  if  I  had  stopped  learning,  if  I  felt  now  that  I 
had  stopped  learning,  had  stopped  trying  to  better  my- 
self, I  feel  that  my  usefulness  to  the  community  would 
be  pretty  nearly  at  an  end." 

,C£We  see  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  study  and 
keep  up  with  the  times  as  well  as  down  to  earth.  You 
cannot  afford  to  worship  your  ideas  and  methods  be- 
cause they  are  good.  The  fact  that  they  were  good 
yesterday,  and  are  good  to-day  does  not  mean  that 
they  will  be  practical  and  most  successful  five  years 
from  now.  Business  conditions  and  business  methods 
have  undergone  a  great  change  in  the  last  ten  years. 
Conditions  in  this  country  are  changing  so  rapidly  that 
business  methods  will  be  revolutionized  during  the 
next  ten  years.  Only  those  who  have  sufficient  cour- 

[110] 


Mental  Analysis  111 


age  and  foresight  will  be  successful.  The  others  will  fall 
by  the  wayside.  Some  of  the  greatest  selling  organiza- 
tions of  the  country  have  almost  entirely  changed  their 
methods  during  the  last  five  years.  They  have  been 
successful  because  they  changed  in  order  to  meet  chang- 
ing conditions.  Others  clung  tenaciously  to  the  old 
methods,  believing  they  could  be  applied  to  the  new 
conditions.  They  failed  before  they  realized  what  was 
wrong. 

QMan  is  the  foundation  of  all  business  success. 
If  he  is  built  right  and  works  rights  he  is  bound  to 
be  successful. 

,Q[I  am  going  to  so  analyze  man  that  you  can 
readily  tell  how  to  analyze  yourself,  eliminate  your 
weaknesses  and  develop  your  strong  points. 

C£0ne  of  our  great  thinkers  has  given  us  this 
analysis.  He  says,  "By  means  of  the  intellect  we  know, 
by  means  of  the  sensibilities  we  feel,  and  by  means  of 
the  will  we  choose;  and  in  their  co-operative  action 
there  is  the  movement  and  experience  of  man's  mental 
life."  One  of  the  objects  of  this  course  is  (1)  the 
development  of  a  keen  analytical  intellect  as  a  result 
of  a  study  of  knowledge  that  is  organized,  tested, 
practical  and  successful.  (2)  The  ability  to  appeal 
to  people  and  persuade  them  through  an  analytical 
knowledge  of  the  emotions  or  sensibilities.  (3)  The 
ability  to  choose  and  decide  and  induce  other  people 
to  do  the  same  at  our  suggestion,  as  a  result  of  a  de- 
veloped will  that  makes  a  man  a  commanding  leader 
in  the  affairs  of  life. 

Q  These  three  are  the  great  mental  trinity.  As 
a  result  of  their  proper  development  and  use,  man  can 
transform  himself  from  a  weakling  into  a  brilliant, 
capable  leader.  Dare  to  let  this  thought  grip  your 
life.  Use  it  as  a  leverage  to  place  yourself  in  the  posi- 


112          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

tion  which  you  know  in  your  own  heart  you  are  capa- 
ble of  filling.  Remember,  "No  being  can  be  great  with- 
out making  himself  great.  He  is,  therefore,  forced  to 
depend  upon  his  own  resources  so  that  there  may  be  a 
continuous  development  of  his  powers." 

:C£In  order  that  I  may  help  you  to  get  a  clearer 
idea  of  the  three  great  mental  factors,  the  intellect, 
the  sensibilities,  and  the  will,  I  have  prepared  the 
following  chart  for  you.  It  shows  the  proportionate 
development  of  the  three  great  mental  factors  in  the 
various  types  of  people.  It  is  understood  that  will 
means  both  choice  and  action,  as  it  requires  will  to 
choose,  decide  and  act. 

C[  Analyze  yourself  in  accordance  with  this  chart 
and  determine  to  which  of  "the  seven  types  you  belong. 
Determine  which  type  you  will  strive  to  belong  to.  De- 
termine which  brain  force  now  dominates  you,  and 
where  you  are  deficient.  "When  you  find  out  where 
you  are  weak,  do  everything  in  your  power  to  over- 
come it. 

QFrom  the  mental  types  indicated  you  realize 
that  a  man  may  have  a  splendid  intellect  but  still  be 
a  failure  because  he  hasn't  developed  leadership.  He 
does  not  take  the  initiative  because  his  will  is  not  de- 
veloped. Every  man  who  has  ever  spent  four  years 
in  a  college  or  university  will  tell  you  about  some  of 
the  brightest  students  in  school,  young  men  who  were 
brilliant  students  of  Latin,  Greek  or  mathematics, 
young  men  whom  the  student  body  thought  had  great 
careers  ahead  of  them,  but  who  later  on  were  found 
raising  a  few  chickens,  doing  carpenter  work  or  some- 
thing similar.  And  why?  Simply  because  they  had 
only  developed  their  intellects.  They  had  done  noth- 
ing toward  developing  their  wills.  A  man  without  a 
will  is  about  as  helpless  as  a  ship  without  a  rudder. 


Intellect,  Sensibilities  and  Will  as  Found  in  Different  Indi- 
viduals.   Choice  and  Action  Are  a  Part  of  Will. 


Thought             Emotion           Will 

mr 

Thought      Emotion 


Will 


Thought 


Emotion    Will 


Thought 


Emotion 


Will 


Thought      Emotion          Will 


pr* 

Thought       Emotion 

Will 

Posi- 
tive 

Nega- 
tive 

Posi- 
tive 

Nega- 
tive 

^•K" 
Posi-   SS^y 

tive      Nega- 
tive 

Thought        Emotion              Will 

IV" 

Jfiflf^^p" 

Intellect            Feelings             Choice 
and                    and                    and 
Thought            Emotion             Action 

Small     decision     and 
action. 


Aggressive  and  im- 
nulsive  but  with  poor 
judgment  and  poor 
sense. 


The  theorist,  who 
thinks  much,  has  slight 
emotion  and  does  little 
— small  action. 


Influenced  by  envi- 
ronment. Goes  with 
the  crowd. 


The    man    who    suc- 
ceeds, right  or  wrong. 


The  man  who  is  al- 
most as  much  negative 
as  positive — a  failure. 


The  equally  devel- 
oped man,  who  suc- 
ceeds according  to  the 
Golden  Rule. 


114          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

,C[One  more  illustration.  You  occasionally  hear 
a  scholarly  sermon  from  a  preacher  who  does  very 
well  in  the  pulpit,  but  who  is  a  failure  as  a  leader 
and  an  organizer.  He,  too,  has  failed  to  develop  his 
will.  Again  you  hear  a  poor  sermon  from  a  preacher 
who  is  a' .splendid  leader  and  organizer.  His  will 
is  developed  but  his  intellect  is  neglected.  The  ideal 
man,  like  the  ideal  preacher,  is  the  man  whose  intellect, 
emotions  and  will  are  developed  equally;  the  man 
who  can  both  think  and  act.  He  is  a  thinker  of 
thoughts  and  a  doer  of  deeds. 

Analysis  of  Types 

1.    Thought  and  Emotion  Developed 
but  Weak  Willed. 

QWeak  in  decision  and  action,  and  without  defi- 
nite purpose.  Such  a  man  may  be  bright,  intelligent 
and  capable  except  that  he  is  lacking  in  initiative, 
lacking  in  constructiveness  and  perseverance.  He  does 
not  seem  to  possess  the  mental  energy  to  decide  and 
act  promptly.  He  lacks  nerve.  He  is  apparently 
either  too  much  afraid  or  too  lazy  to  try. 

2.    Thinks  Little  but  has  Strong  Emotion 
and  Action. 

iC[The  loud-mouthed  man  who  is  lacking  in  judg- 
ment and  common  sense. 


Mental  Analysis 


3.    The  Thinker  who  has  Little 
Feeling  and  Will. 

,C[The  thinker,  philosopher,  theorist,  talker  and 
perpetual  motion  man  who  has  a  fantastic  remedy  for 
everything;  who  is  lacking  in  feeling  but  not  aggres- 
sive enough  to  either  decide  or  act. 

4.  Has  Excess  of  Feeling  but  Thinks  Little 

and  is  Weak  Willed. 

QThe  sentimentalist  swayed  by  his  emotional 
nature.  Lacks  concentration  and  ability  to  think  logi- 
cally. Is  slow  to  decide  or  act,  and  because  of  un- 
trained judgment  is  as  likely  to  make  an  unwise  de- 
cision as  a  wise  one.  Drifts  with  his  environment. 
Such  people  are  effeminate,  changeable  and  capricious. 
They  lack  the  power  to  think  and  act.  They  are  harm- 
less, purposeless  people  who  depend  upon  luck  and 
whine  because  of  their  bad  luck.  They  lack  the  ability 
to  recognize  an  opportunity,  and  the  courage  to  act 
if  it  is  pointed  out  to  them.  Such  men  lack  thought, 
originality,  concentration,  purpose  and  perseverance. 
They  look  for  something  to  turn  up  instead  of  turning 
it  up. 

5.  Thought  Power  and  Will  Power  Large, 

Emotion  and  Conscience  Small. 

,C[The  man  of  intellectual  equipment  and  strong 
will,  the  man  of  keen  analysis,  good  judgment,  concen- 
tration, ambition,  determination,  and  unlimited  will 


116          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

power.  The  man  who  cares  little  for  conscience,  whose 
ideal  is  the  dollar  and  who  proposes  to  get  it  by  fair 
means  if  he  can,  but  some  other  way  if  he  must.  The 
man  who  thinks  business  is  war,  and  that  all  is  fair 
in  war.  The  man  of  the  cold  intellectual  type  of 
Caesar  and  Napoleon  and  some  of  our  modern  Cap- 
tains of  Industry. 

6.     Where  Negative  and  Positive  Qualities 
Nearly  Equalize  Each  Other. 

(QThis  is  simply  an  illustration  of  the  negative 
•qualities  to  be  found  in  the  other  six  types.  A  man's 
intellect,  sensibilities  and  will  are  strong  simply  in 
proportion  to  the  development,  separately  or  united- 
ly, of  their  positive  forces  and  the  elimination  of  their 
negative  qualities.  The  object  of  this  chart  and 
analysis  is  to  give  you  a  better  foundation  for 
your  study  of  man  building,  and  a  clearer  under- 
standing of  personality  development  through  the  de- 
velopment of  the  positive  qualities  and  the  elimination 
of  the  negative,  as  found  in  Lesson  II. 

7.   The  Man  of  Symmetrical  Development. 

,C£The  all-around,  normally  developed  man.  The 
man  of  intellect,  the  man  of  heart  and  conscience,  and 
the  man  of  will.  The  man  who  wins  success  in  accord- 
ance with  honesty  and  not  in  spite  of  dishonesty.  The 
man  who  is  the  brains  and  conscience  of  this  country. 
The  man,  who,  like  Marshall  Field,  built  a  reputation 
for  absolute  reliability  and  honesty  rather  than  the 
man  who  disgusts  trade  and  drives  it  away  by  mark- 
ing $1.00  shirts  up  to  $1.50  and  then  marking  them 


Mental  Analysis  117 


down  to  ninety-five  cents.  Honesty  of  the  Marshall 
Field  kind  made  Field  the  greatest  merchant  in  the 
world.  Dishonesty  of  the  other  kind,  while  sometimes 
temporarily  profitable,  usually  drives  a  man,  either 
out  of  business  entirely,  or  else  into  the  junk  dealing 
class. 

,QThe  law  of  mental  growth  is  the  same  as  the 
law  of  physical  growth.  It  is  this,  "Correct  exercise- 
of  any  organ  develops  that  organ." 

.QThis  lesson  could  be  continued  indefinitely,  but 
enough  has  been  said  to  show  you  that  to  be  success- 
ful a  man  must  build  himself  and  his  business  upon 
the  foundation  shown  in  type  seven.  In  building  a 
business  we  consider  the  profit  we  make  to-day  as  in- 
cidental to  the  profit  we  expect  to  make.  It  is  one 
thing  to  get  business,  but  it  is  quite  another  thing  to 
hold  it.  If  we  are  ambitious  to  get  all  the  profit  w^ 
can  out  of  to-day's  transaction,  regardless  of  the  effect 
upon  the  future  we  cannot  call  ourselves  business 
builders,  but  business  killers.  Business  building  is 
based  upon  the  law  of  mutual  benefit,  good  service 
and  satisfaction.  Business  killing  aims  to  "do  the 
other  fellow"  as  soon  as  possible  and  as  long  as  he 
will  stand  for  it.  It  registers  its  own  doom. 

iQ  Salesmanship  is  a  mental  battle  between  the  man 
who  wishes  to  sell  and  the  man  who  isn't  sure  he 
wants  to  buy.  "When  a  salesman  and  a  prospect  come 
together  the  one  with  the  best  and  strongest  argu- 
ments usually  wins.  A  salesman  always  meets  an  argu- 
ment and  a  lot  of  objections  in  opposition  to  his  own. 
A  strong  salesman  always  batters  down  these  objec- 
tions and  overcomes  the  arguments.  The  weak  sales- 
man listens  to  them  and  forgets  his  own.  Instead  of 
influencing  his  prospect  he  permits  his  prospect  to  in- 


118          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

fluence  him.  When  two  men  come  together  to  consider 
a  proposition  the  best  man  usually  wins.  Be  that  best 
.man. 


Suggestive  Written  Exercises 


Write  a  hundred  word  essay  on  the  mental  fac- 
tors you  feel  that  you  need  to  develop. 

Write  a  hundred  word  essay  on  the  man  whose 
intellect  predominates. 

Write  a  hundred  word  essay  on  the  man  whose 
•emotions  predominate. 

Write  a  two  hundred  word  essay  on  the  man  whose 
will  is  his  predominating  characteristic. 

Question:  Is  a  man  whose  will  power  is  highly  de- 
veloped best  adapted  for  an  inside  detail  position  or 
tan  outside  leadership  position  f 


LESSON  VII. 


Cental  iato  of  feale 


Why  Mental  Science  is  Behind 
Physical  Science. 

AM  going  to  make  the  statement,  and  I  do 
not  expect  to  have  it  disproven,  that  Material 
or  Physical  Science  is  at  least  fifty  years 
ahead  of  Mental  Science,  which  includes 
Business  Science. 

the  knowledge  and  use  of  physics  and 
chemistry,  mineral  ore  is  made  to  give  up  the  last 
particle  of  value.  As  a  result  of  the  same  knowledge 
every  particle  of  the  steer  and  hog  are  utilized.  As  a 
result  of  the  knowledge  of  the  science  of  mechanics  ma- 
chines have  been  invented  which  have  doubled  and  quad- 
rupled production.  As  a  result  of  this  same  knowledge, 
machines,  like  the  cash  register  and  the  adding  machine 
have  been  devised  which  have  revolutionized  modern 
systems  and  modern  business  organizations. 

Lack  of  Individual  Efficiency. 

C£But  during  all  this  time  the  efficiency  of  the 
individual  worker  back  of  the  machine  has  not  been 
greatly  increased. 

[119] 


120          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

,C£Gro  into  any  first-class  store  and  you  will  find 
an  up-to-date  National  Cash  Register  standing  in  front 
of  the  counter.  The  tools  to  make  this  machine  cost 
$600,000.00.  It  cost  nearly  half  a  million  more  to  in- 
vent and  perfect  it.  Here  is  a  machine  that  has  cost 
a  million  dollars,  and  look  what  it  does!  It  gives  the 
merchant  a  complete  system,  an  absolute  record  of  his 
day's  business.  It  gives  a  total  record  of  cash  sales, 
credit  sales,  money  received  on  account  and  money 
paid  out,  for  the  day.  It  even  gives  an  itemized  record 
of  each  transaction  for  the  day  and  who  is  responsible 
for  it.  It  has  been  called  "A  human  brain  in  a  steel 
box." 

Machine  More  Perfect  Than  Man. 

QHere  is  this  machine  in  front  of  the  counter,  that 
has  cost  a  million  dollars  and  simply  records  the  sales, 
but  how  about  the  man  behind  the  counter  who  makes 
the  sales?  Practically  nothing  has  been  spent  on_him 
in  special  training  in  order  to  make  him  as  efficient 
in  getting  the  business  as  the  machine  is  in  recording 
it.  Don't  you  see  the  inequality  and  business  ab- 
surdity in  the  comparison?  Will  copper  and  steel 
alone  do  the  work  of  the  Cash  Register?  No,  certainly 
not,  unless  they  are  first  mixed  with  the  million  dol- 
lars' worth  of  brains.  At  first  they  are  only  the  raw 
material.  Will  raw  brains  do  the  work  of  a  first-class 
salesman  or  business  man?  Why,  it  is  unreasonable 
to  expect  it  until  this  raw  grey  matter  is  first  mixed 
with  the  right  kind  of  education. 

,C[  Steel  rails  are  worth  in  the  neighborhood  of 
$28.00  a  ton.  This  same  steel,  when  put  through  the 
proper  processes  of  refining  is  worth  $12,000,000  a 
ton  as  watch  springs. 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  121 


Man  can  Increase  His  Efficiency. 


average  man  apparently  does  not  realize 
that  he,  too,  can  increase  his  value  similarly  by  proper 
processes  of  refining.  But  it  can  be  done.  A  man  can 
either  remain  in  the  steel  rail  class  and  be  good  only 
for  things  to  run  on,  or  he  can  get  into  the  watch 
spring  class  and  run  the  whole  works.  I  wish  I  might 
in  some  way  so  impress  this  statement  that  you  —  just 
you  —  who  read  it  now  could  and  would  take  this  home 
to  yourself  and  realize  that  it  means  you.  That  you 
can  do  it  if  you  will. 

C[I  will  now  show  you  why  the  mental  world  is 
so  far  behind  the  mechanical  world.  "Mechanics  is 
the  science  of  the  actions  and  functions  of  machinery." 
"The  science  of  mind  action  and  function  is  psy- 
chology." Machinery  is  something  practical,  tangible, 
something  that  for  generations  men  have  been  able 
to  see  and  feel  and  handle  with  the  hands.  Therefore 
the  rapid  advance.  The  mind  has  been  something  in- 
tangible, unseen,  therefore  unknown,  and  by  the  major- 
ity, supposedly  unknowable. 

Man  has  been  Ignorant  of  Self. 

QThe  reason  man  has  failed  to  advance  mentally 
is  because  he  has  failed  to  understand  himself  and  his 
fellows.  He  has  failed  to  understand  the  laws  govern- 
ing his  mind.  He  has  failed  to  understand  human  nat- 
ure, the  feelings,  habits,  instincts  and  thought  processes 
of  himself  and  his  fellows. 

C[0f  course,  we  have  had  psychologists  but  they 
have  been  mostly  theoretical  men  and  for  that  reason 
they  have  been  unable  to  show  the  average  man  how 


122          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

to  connect  their  theoretical  principles  to  his  practical 
job.  In  other  words,  the  psychologists  have  been,  in 
large  part,  so  far  "up  in  the  air"  that  it  has  been 
almost  impossible  for  the  average  man  to  see  any  re- 
lationship between  their  theory  and  his  practice,  and 
there  is  a  good  reason  for  that,  too  —  a  reason  which 
neither  class  has  apparently  understood. 

Average  Business  Man  Has  Little 
School  Education. 


am  safe  in  saying  that  fully  90%  of  the  busi- 
ness men  of  this  country  have  received  little  better 
than  a  grammar  school  education.  For  that  reason 
they  have  difficulty  in  learning  the  principles  that  un- 
derlie business,  and  how  to  apply  a  principle  to  differ- 
ent transactions.  Right  here  is  a  good  principle. 
I  have  found  that  the  retail  salesman  cannot  at  first 
appreciate  the  mental  law  of  sale  when  applied  to  special- 
ty salesmanship,  and  that  the  specialty  salesman  does 
not  appreciate  the  value  of  the  mental  law  of  sale  when 
he  sees  it  applied  to  the  sale  of  goods  at  retail.  Neither 
class  of  men  is  able  at  first  to  make  the  application 
of  the  principle  until  shown  how.  For  that  reason 
we  make  the  application  so  clear  that  it  is  easily  un- 
derstood by  all  classes. 

The  Mental  Law  of  Sale. 

C[With  this  preliminary  explanation  I  propose  to 
discuss  the  Mental  Law  of  Sale,  the  mental  processes 
through  which  the  mind  must  be  taken  while  the  sale 
is  being  made,  and  make  the  application  so  clear  from 
many  points  of  view  that  anybody  can  understand  it. 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  123 

C£In  order  that  I  may  throw  a  little  more  light 
on  this  subject,  right  at  the  beginning,  I  am  going  to 
quote  from  two  great  specialists.  The  one  is  Prof. 
Walter  Dill  Scott,  head  of  the  Department  of  Psy- 
chology of  Northwestern  University.  The  other,  Hugh 
Chalmers,  President  of  the  Chalmers  Motor  Company. 
Prof.  Scott  has  made  a  deep  study  of  business  and  has 
written  more  and  better  on  the  subject  of  business 
psychology  than  any  other  psychologist.  Hugh  Chal- 
mers, on  the  other  hand,  is  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
young  salesmen,  general  managers  and  business  gener- 
als of  this  generation.  Their  opinions  are  valuable. 

Man  Neglected  Factor  in  Business. 

QProf.  Scott  says:  "Man  is  the  one  neglected 
factor  in  business,  and  the  most  important.  Men  who 
know  how  to  get  maximum  results  out  of  machines 
are  common.  The  power  to  get  the  maximum  of  work 
out  of  subordinates  or  out  of  yourself  is  a  much  rarer 
possession.  Of  the  elements  involved  in  production  or 
distribution,  the  human  factor  is  to-day  the  most  serious 
problem  confronting  the  business  man.  The  individual 
remains  to  be  studied,  trained  and  developed — to  be 
brought  up  to  the  standard  of  maximum  results  al- 
ready reached  by  material  and  processes.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  efficiency  of  the  individual  worker  has 
remained  stationary.  The  reason  lies  in  man's  lack  of 
real  knowledge  of  his  fellows — knowledge  of  their  feel- 
ings and  mind  workings,  habits  and  instincts." 

Easier  to  Make  Things  than  to  Sell  Them. 

C£Hugh  Chalmers  says:  "I  have  been  in  the 
manufacturing  business  nearly  all  my  life  and  I  have 


124          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

—  -  * 

found  that  it  is  much  easier  to  make  things  than  it  is 
to  sell  them.  It  took  me  some  time  to  figure  that  out. 
It  finally  dawned  upon  me  that  the  difference  is  caused 
through  the  fact  that  in  one  case  you  deal  mostly  with 
machinery  and  metals  while  in  the  other  you  deal  en- 
tirely with  the  mind.  Machinery  is  a  fixed  quantity, 
You  know  exactly  what  a  machine  can  do  and  ex- 
actly what  it  will  do  under  given  conditions.  It  is 
very  often  automatic  and  requires  little  attention  from 
anyone.  It  is  nearly  always  the  same.  It  never 
changes  its  mind.  It  is  seldom  influenced  by  outside 
conditions.  When  you  get  on  the  other  side  and  try 
to  deal  with  humanity  you  face  very  different  prob- 
lems. Humanity  thinks.  It  has  feelings.  It  has  sen- 
sations, decisions,  prejudices.  It  changes  its  mind.  It 
is  influenced  by  environment  and  the  conditions  sur- 
rounding it." 

C£Do  you  realize  how  similar  the  two  opinions 
are?  The  one  from  a  professor,  the  other  the  presi- 
dent of  a  great  manufacturing  concern. 

A  Sale  Takes  Place  in  the  Mind. 


believe  with  Hugh  Chalmers  that  "a  sale  does 
not  take  place  in  a  man's  pocket,  or  in  his  pocket- 
book,  or  his  check-book,  but  it  first  takes  place  in  his 
mind.  In  order  to  make  a  sale  you  must  convince  a 
man's  mind.  When  you  approach  him  he  feels  that 
he  does  not  want  your  goods.  Ybu  feel  that  he  should 
have  them  and  would  buy  them  if  he  knew  as  much 
about  them  as  you  do.  In  order  to  sell  him  you  must 
change  his  mind  and  bring  it  around  to  agree  with 
yours.  When  we  once  put  salesmanship  on  this  broad 
plane  of  convincing  the  other  man's  mind,  it  doesn't 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  125 

make  any  difference  whether  we  are  trying  to  sell  a 
house  and  lot  or  a  paper  of  pins." 

The  Mental  Processes. 

,(TI  will  now  enumerate  the  mental  processes 
through  which  the  mind  goes  while  the  sale  is  being 
made.  These  processes  are  so  important  that  if  one  of 
them  is  skipped  the  result  will  very  likely  be  failure. 

QThe  first  step  in  making  the  sale  is  the  intro- 
duction or  approach,  the  next  is  getting  the  attention, 
then  arousing  interest,  producing  conviction,  creat- 
ing desire,  creating  resolve  to  buy,  and  last  and  most 
important,  closing  the  order. 

Q  There  are  several  processes  here  enumerated  and 
some  of  them  blend  very  closely  into  the  others,  but  I 
consider  them  all  essential  in  order  to  make  this  law 
as  clear  as  crystal  to  every  salesman  who  studies  it. 
It  can  be  abridged  as  follows:  Attention,  interest, 
conviction,  close,  but  in  so  doing  it  omits  the  intro- 
duction and  the  desire  to  purchase.  It  just  gives  one 
kind  of  conviction  and  there  are  really  two.  The  man 
is  first  convinced  that  the  proposition  is  a  good  one. 
He  becomes  satisfied  of  this,  then  he  desires  it.  He  next 
resolves  to  get  it,  which  means  that  he  is  convinced  he 
ought  to  get  it. 

The  Introduction. 

QWe  will  first  consider  the  introduction  and  what 
may  be  called  the  approach.  The  two  individuals  meet. 
The  salesman  greets  his  prospective  customer  and 
sometimes  shakes  hands  with  him,  but  not  always.  I 
want  you  to  think  of  this  salesman  as  the  party  of 
the  first  part.  His  sole  object  is  to  convince  and  per- 


126          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

suade  the  party  of  the  second  part  to  think  as  he  thinks, 
feel  as  he  feels,  and  act  as  he  would  like  to  have  him 
act.  But  how?  Here  is  where  the  laws  governing  the 
mind  must  be  considered.  If  they  are  not  considered. 
either  consciously  or  unconsciously,  or  if  only  part  of 
them  are  broken,  the  interview  is  likely  to  result  in 
failure. 

QWhen  the  party  of  the  second  part  is  met  he 
is  curious.  He  is  anxious  to  know  what  his  visitor  wants. 
If  the  salesman  sells  pianos,  and  says:  "My  name  is 
Jones,  and  I  want  to  show  you  a  piano,  or  I  want  to 
know  if  you  don't  want  to  buy  a  piano,"  his  prospect 
will  very  likely  say,  "No,  I  do  not,"  and  walk  away, 
simply  because  the  salesman  has  failed  to  approach 
him  in  the  right  way,  and  has  therefore  broken  one 
of  the  first  laws  leading  to  the  successful  culmination 
of  the  transaction.  He  has  failed  to  address  his  pros- 
pect favorably.  He  has  antagonized  him  just  a  little, 
by  failure  to  get  over  on  his  side  of  the  fence  and 
address  him  from  his  point  of  view. 

QLet  us  suppose  that  he  addressed  him  like  this, 
"Mr.  Brown,  my  name  is  Jones,  I  represent  the  Blank 
Piano  Company  and  I  was  referred  to  you  by  Mr.  So 
and  So  who  said  you  were  in  the  market  for  a  piano. 
The  object  of  my  visit  is  to  show  you  that  the  Blank 
Piano  will  give  you  better  service  for  the  money  than 
any  piano  made.  '  ' 

Appeal  to  Customer  from  His  Point  of  View. 


on't  you  see  that  in  this  case  the  salesman 
immediately  talks  to  his  customer  from  the  standpoint 
of  his  customer's  interests  and  needs,  and  not  from 
the  standpoint  of  his  desire  to  sell?  It  is  one  thing. 
therefore,  to  meet  a  man  and  greet  him,  but  to  get  his 


Salesman  and  Customer 


The  crooked  lines  on  the  left  indicate  where  the 
prospective  buyer's  mind  left  the  Arrow  as  result  of  ob- 
jections. The  straight  lines  back  to  Arrow  indicate 
power  of  Salesman. 


Too  busy 

Called  to 
phone 

Continuity 
Broken 

Price  too 
high 


Don't  want 
it 


Can't  af- 
ford  it 


Not  now 
Later  on 


INTRODt 


INT 


CONN 


CTION 


ICTION 


DESIRE! 


SI 


Mind  goes  off  on  tangent. 

Mind  goes  back  to  arrow , 
but  leaves  when  called 
away. 

Interested,  but  price  too 
high. 

Mind  brought  back  to  ar- 
row when  convinced  of 
value,  but  not  sure  he 
wants  it. 


Desires  it,  but  not  sure  he 
can  afford  it. 


Decides  to  buy  —  later  on. 

Mind  forced  to  arrow  at 
Resolve,  but  left  it  by 
deciding  not  to  buy  till 
later. 


ID  ORDER  Decides  to  do  it  now. 


RESOLVE: 


128          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

attention  away  from  you  and  directed  favorably  toward 
your  goods  is  a  different  thing.  Getting  the  atten- 
tion, therefore,  I  consider  the  second  step.  But  what 
do  we  really  mean  by  attention?  It  is  "The  applica- 
tion of  the  mind  to  any  object,"  "Earnest  considera- 
tion," "Consciousness  voluntarily  applied  to  some  de- 
terminate object,"  it  is  "Consciousness  concentrated." 

Ct  Suppose  we  see  how  to  gain  the  attention  in 
selling  goods  at  retail.  I  heard  a  clerk  say  to  a  cus- 
tomer one  day,  "You  wouldn't  want  any  oranges  would 
you?"  Of  course  the  customer  said,  "No."  Didn't 
the  clerk  tell  him  he  did  not  want  any  by  giving  him 
a  negative  suggestion? 

QHere  is  the  way  one  of  our  students  attracted 
the  attention  and  made  the  sale  of  a  dozen  oranges. 
Note  the  contrast.  "We  have  just  received  a  carload 
of  large,  juicy,  sweet  oranges  direct  from  Florida.  They 
are  only  forty  cents  a  dozen  and  I  believe  you  would 
like  them."  While  saying  this  he  picked  up  an  orange 
and  handed  it  to  his  prospective  customer. 

A  Negative  and  Positive  Comparison. 

QHere  is  another  comparison.  The  one  is  nega- 
tive, the  other  positive.  The  one  is  contrary  to  the 
Mental  Law  of  Sale,  the  other  is  in  harmony  with  it. 
The  negative  is  doomed  to  fail.  The  positive  leads  in 
the  direction  of  success.  The  following  is  the  negafive. 

,QA  traveling  man  walked  into  a  store  and  said 
he  represented  So  and  So  handling  a  certain  line  of 
goods,  and  said  to  the  merchant,  "Are  you  in  need 
of  anything  in  my  line?"  The  merchant  said,  "No." 
"Well",  he  said,  "I  have  a  very  good  price."  The 
merchant  said  he  wasn't  interested,  so  the  traveling 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  129 

man  said  he  would  call  again.     The  positive  compari- 
son follows: 

C[  There  was  a  circus  in  town  and  the  small  boy 
rushed  up  to  his  father  and  said,  "Papa,  give  me  a 
quarter.  I  want  to  go  to  the  circus. ' '  The  father  said, 
"Go  away  and  don't  bother  me."  "But",  said  the 
boy,  "the  parade  is  coming  right  down  Main  street 
now,  elephants,  lions,  tigers,  and  everything,  an3  I've 
just  got  to  go."  The  father  said,  "Here,  take  the 
quarter  and  go  on."  The  average  boy  uses  better 
salesmanship  on  his  father  when  a  circus  comes  to 
town,  than  does  many  a  salesman  in  selling  goods. 

QWe  will  now  go  back  to  our  diagram.  You 
will  remember  that  both  men's  minds  are  together  at 
the  introduction  and  the  salesman  aims  to  hold  his 
prospect's  mind  on  the  arrow  until  the  arrow  hits 
the  bull's  eye, — which  is  the  prospective  buyer's  will — 
and  clinches  the  order.  But  he  cannot  always  do 
it.  For  instance,  just  after  the  salesman  com- 
menced to  discuss  his  proposition  the  proprietor  was 
called  to  the  phone,  or  to  wait  on  a  customer, 
thereby  taking  his  mind  off  on  a  different  angle.  When 
he  was  through,  the  continuity  of  the  salesman's  talk 
having  been  broken,  the  proprietor  would  likely  say, 
"No,  I  don't  care  anything  about  it."  The  salesman 
would  have  to  commence  a  new  line  of  vigorous  talk 
in  order  to  get  his  prospect's  mind  back  to  the  arrow. 

How  Interest  Is  Aroused. 

QThe  next  step  is  to  carry  his  prospect's  mind 
from  attention  to  interest.  In  other  words,  attention 
sustained  ripens  into  interest,  and  what  is  interest? 
It  is  "Excitement  of  feeling,  whether  pleasant  or  pain- 
ful, accompanying  special  attention  to  some  object;  to 


130          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

arouse;  to  excite  to  action;  to  excite  emotion  or  passion 
in  behalf  of  a  person  or  thing.  Interest  expresses 
mental  excitement  of  various  kinds  and  degrees.  It 
may  be  intellectual  or  sympathetic  and  emotional,  or 
merely  personal."  But  notice,  interest  means  to  excite 
to  action.  I  want  you  to  notice  something  very  care- 
fully right  at  this  point.  You  must  interest  an  indi- 
vidual either  in  what  you  are  saying  or  in  how  you 
say  it, — your  method  of  expressing  it.  You  must  do 
this  jn  order  to  keep  his  attention.  Concentrate  on 
what  you  are  saying.  It  takes  will  power  to  do  it,  as 
attention  is  the  center  of  the  will. 

Q  Interest  sustained  soon  ripens  into  conviction 
that  the  article  under  consideration  is  a  good  thing. 
After  a  man  is  convinced  that  it  is  a  good  thing  for 
him,  then  the  next  step  is  for  him  to  desire  it.  A 
good  many  salesmen  try  to  jump  from  interest  to  de- 
sire without  ever  convincing  the  man.  That  is  a  fatal 
mistake,  as  conviction,  as  to  the  value,  or  personal 
advantage  of  the  article,  must  mentally  precede  de- 
sire. But  before  I  go  into  this  further,  I  want  to 
go  back  and  make  the  subject  of  interest  plainer  to 
you.  I  can  do  this  by  illustration  better  than  any  other 
way. 

C£A  great  many  salesmen  have  a  fatal  weakness 
in  their  selling  talk  right  at  this  point  and  I  want  to 
point  it  out  so  clearly  that  every  reader,  no  matter 
whether  a  salesman  or  not,  will  fully  appreciate  it. 
This  fatal  mistake  consists  in  thinking  that  because 
an  individual  is  interested  in  a  proposition  he  desires 
it,  and  for  that  reason  it  is  unnecessary  to  either  pro- 
duce conviction  or  create  desire.  I  will  show  you  the 
difference  between  interest  and  desire.  I  have  gazed 
upon  a  pure  white  thoroughbred  Arabian  horse  and  I 
was  deeply  interested,  but  had  no  thought  of  desiring  the 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  131 

horse.  I  have  stood  before  Niagara  Falls  for  hours  and 
gazed  upon  nature 's  marvelous  work.  I  have  stood  there 
because  I  was  interested — not  because  I  had  any  idea 
of  desiring  the  Falls.  I  have  stood  on  the  top  of 
Pike's  Peak  and  viewed  the  surrounding  country  with 
a  great  deal  of  interest,  but  there  was  no  semblance 
of  desire  mingled  with  my  interest.  Don't  think  for 
a  minute  that  because  you  show  your  goods  to  an  in- 
dividual and  he  is  interested  in  them  and  greatly  ad- 
mires them,  that  he  is  going  to  buy  them  without  first 
being  convinced  that  they  are  worth  the  money,  or  to 
his  advantage.  Conviction  and  desire  are  the  result 
of  an  appeal  to  entirely  different  mental  emotions  than 
the  appeal  to  mere  human  interest.  The  whole  world 
can  be  and  is  interested  through  curiosity, — mere  curi- 
osity. Please  remember  that  and  try  it,  but  do  not 
jump  to  the  conclusion  that  because  they  are  curious 
they  are  necessarily  going  to  buy. 

C£The  steps  in  the  Mental  Law  of  Sale  are  so 
closely  connected  that  the  mind  goes  through  the  pro- 
cesses sometimes  with  almost  electrical  rapidity,  but 
it  consciously  or  unconsciously  takes  the  steps  just 
the  same.  For  instance :  one  of  our  students,  a  grocery 
clerk,  sold  a  customer  all  he  wanted  and  when  he  was 
going  out  the  salesman  called  his  attention  to  a  bas- 
ket of  beautiful  ripe  peaches.  He  interested  the  man 
by  taking  a  peach  out  of  the  basket  and  telling  him 
how  beautiful  it  was.  It  was  sunkissed  on  one  side 
and  an  autumn  brown  on  the  other.  He  held  it  up 
in  his  hand  for  the  man  to  look  at.  As  soon  as  the 
customer  saw  it  his  mouth  watered  and  he  desired  it.  He 
was  convinced  that  it  was  good,  and  good  for  him. 
At  this  instant  the  clerk  said,  "Take  a  bite  of  it." 
One  bite  was  enough  to  whet  his  appetite  and  make 
him  resolve  to  satisfy  it.  He  asked  the  price  of  the- 


132          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

basket,  paid  his  money  and  took  the  peaches.  Yon 
can  easily  trace  every  step  in  the  Mental  Law  of  Sale 
in  this  simple  sale  of  a  basket  of  peaches. 

How  Conviction  is  Brought  About. 


come  now  to  the  subject  of  conviction,  and 
conviction  is  the  heart  and  center  of  the  Mental  Law  of 
Sale.  If  you  fail  here  you  fail  entirely,  —  at  least  for  the 
time  being.  This  same  thing  can  be  said  about  the  ap- 
proach. If  you  can  not  induce  your  prospect  to  listen, 
you  have  no  opportunity  to  sell  him.  You  are  beginning 
to  realize  the  importance  of  each  step  or  process  in  the 
Law  of  Sale. 

C£  Conviction  comes  next.  Well,  what  do  we  mean 
by  conviction,  and  how  do  we  bring  it  about?  I  have 
asked  two  very  hard  questions  and  I  will  try  to  answer 
them  satisfactorily. 

C£"  Conviction  is  the  result  of  the  operation  of 
the  understanding;  persuasion  of  the  will;  conviction 
is  a  necessity  of  the  mind,  persuasion  an  acquiescence 
of  the  inclination." 

QBlackstone,  the  legal  authority,  says,  "Convic- 
tion may  accrue  two  ways,  either  by  the  act  of  con- 
vincing of  error,  or  compelling  the  admission  of  a  truth  ; 
confutation.  '  ' 

C£"To  convince  is  an  act  of  the  understanding; 
to  persuade,  of  the  will  or  feelings."  Therefore,  a  man 
must  know  how  to  manipulate  the  understanding  in 
order  to  produce  conviction.  "The  one  is  affected  by 
argument;  the  other  by  motives.  There  are  cases,  how- 
ever, in  which  persuasion  may  seem  to  be  used  in  refer- 
ence only  to  the  assent  of  the  understanding,  as  when 
we  say,  '  I  am  persuaded  that  it  is  so  and  so  '  ;  'I  cannot 
persuade  myself  of  the  fact'.  But  in  such  instances 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  133 

there  is  usually  or  always  a  degree  of  awakened  feel- 
jing  which  has  had  its  share  in  producing  its  assent 
of  the  understanding."  The  foregoing  may  seem  a 
little  technical  to  some  so  I  will  try  to  make  it  clearer. 

Two  Methods  of  Producing  Conviction. 

Q  There  are  just  two  methods  by  means  of  which 
we  can  induce  a  man  to  act,  and  action  is  what  we 
are  after  in  salesmanship.  The  one  is  to  convince 
his  understanding  and  his  judgment  and  thereby  get 
the  consent  of  his  will  to  act;  the  other  is  through 
persuading  his  emotions  and  inducing  his  feelings  to 
control  his  will  and  therefore  his  actions. 

QThe  problem  of  producing  conviction  is  the 
greatest  problem  in  all  salesmanship.  This  is  true 
because  the  reason  and  judgment  must  be  satisfied. 
Judgment  is  the  supreme  court  of  the  human  mind. 
There  is  no  higher  court;  reason  and  judgment  must 
be  satisfied.  It  is  one  thing  to  have  ideas  but  it  is  an- 
other thing  to  organize  them  and  still  another  thing 
to  present  them  to  the  mind  in  such  a  way  as  to  sat- 
isfy reason  and  judgment  and  produce  conviction. 
Let  me  illustrate.  Suppose  I  ask  a  grocer  for  two 
pounds  of  sugar  and  he  places  the  weights  on  his  old 
fashioned  scales  and  pours  in  the  sugar,  the  beam 
will  come  up  when  the  two  pounds  are  poured  in. 
But  suppose  he  stood  ten  feet  from  the  scales  and 
tossed  the  weights  on  the  scales  instead  of  plac- 
ing them  properly.  The  chances  are  that  one 
or  both  weights  would  fall  off  and  the  sugar  would 
not  weigh  right.  So  it  is  with  evidence.  If  disor- 
ganized and  thrown  at  the  mind  in  any  way  it  cer- 
tainly will  not  satisfy  the  scales  of  judgment  and" 
produce  conviction. 


134          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

The  Effect  of  Judgment  on  Success. 

,C[I  want  you  to  pay  particular  attention  to  that 
word  judgment.  Don 't  you  know  that  judgment  is  one  of 
the  greatest  causes  of  success  or  failure  in  life?  I 
knew  a  man  to  refuse  a  position  that  would  have 
paid  him  $500.00  per  month  when  his  time  wasn't 
worth  $100.00,  simply  because  he  thought  someone 
Tie  did  not  like  might  make  a  little  profit  out  of  his 
work.  His  judgment  did  not  dictate  his  decision  but 
his  prejudice  did.  Men  will  make  decisions  based  up- 
•on  prejudice,  jealousy,  spite,  hatred,  like  or  dislike 
and  numerous  other  negative  qualities.  But  just  as 
surely  as  man  throws  judgment  to  the  wind  when  he 
makes  a  decision  he  is  leading  straight  toward  the 
Tocky  reefs  of  destruction.  You  must  take  this  into 
consideration  when  making  a  sale. 

QBut  let  us  go  back  to  judgment.  How  do  we 
form  a  judgment?  Judgment  is  "that  act  of  the  mind 
by  which  two  notions  or  ideas  which  are  apprehended 
as  distinct  are  compared,  for  the  purpose  of  ascer- 
taining their  agreement  or  disagreement.  It  is  that  power 
or  faculty  by  which  knowledge  dependent  upon  com- 
parison and  discrimination  is  acquired.  It  is  the  act  of 
judging;  the  operation  of  the  mind  involving  compari- 
son and  discrimination,  by  which  the  knowledge  of  the 
values  and  relations  of  things,  whether  of  moral  quali- 
ties, intellectual  concepts,  logical  propositions,  or  ma- 
terial facts  are  obtained." 

Comparison,  the  Basis  of  Reason 
and  Judgment. 

Q  Comparison  is  the  basis  of  judgment.  You  must 
•compare  one  thing  with  another  in  order  to  arrive  at 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  135 

a  judgment.  In  order  to  do  that  you  must  exercise 
reason.  We  notice  then  that  comparison  is  the  basis 
of  reason  as  well  as  of  judgment.  You  cannot  reason 
or  think  about  an  idea  unless  you  have  some  other 
idea  to  compare  it  with.  Your  judgment  or  conclusion 
will  not  only  be  based  upon  reason  but  upon  your  past 
experience.  If  I  ask  you  to  pass  judgment  on  a  horse, 
your  opinion  or  'judgment  will  be  valued  in  accord- 
ance with  your  previous  knowledge  of  horses.  If  I 
ask  for  your  judgment  in  regard  to  a  suit  of  clothes, 
a  farm,  or  a  business  policy,  the  value  of  that  judg- 
ment will  depend  upon  your  previous  experience  and 
your  ability  to  draw  accurate  conclusions  from  it,  as 
well  as  your  ability  to  reason. 

C£Here  is  an  illustration  of  poor  judgment,  and 
it  may  show  how  judgment  can  be  developed.  A  coun- 
try store-keeper  bought  a  ton  and  a  half  of  raisins. 
The  town  he  lived  in  had  a  population  of  only  500. 
Had  he  consulted  either  his  reason,  judgment  or  the 
needs  of  the  town  he  would  have  known  that  he  was 
buying  too  many  raisins.  He  evidently  did  neither. 
He  put  nearly  all  the  raisins  down  cellar  and  they 
spoiled.  At  another  time  he  bought  enough  window 
curtains  to  do  the  community  five  years.  No  wonder 
he  did  not  make  money.  The  man  who  sold  him  did 
not  apparently  need  to  appeal  to  his  judgment.  He 
pimply  enthused  and  persuaded  him  into  over-buying. 
Apparently  he  had  little  buying  judgment  to  appeal 
to.  But  a  salesman  who  will  overload  a  buyer  to  the 
buyer's  evident  loss,  and  the  wholesale  house  that  will 
fill  the  order,  are  both  guilty  of  legal  robbery.  The 
salesman  who  profits  most  in  the  end  is  the  one  who 
serves  best  and  gives  the  best  expert  advice.  But  this 
is  simply  an  illustration  on  the  development  and  value 
of  judgment. 


136          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

C£In  passing  I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
word  reason.  Reason  exercises  such  a  great  part  in 
forming  a  judgment  that  I  want  to  spend  a  little  time 
in  getting  a  clearer  understanding  of  reason  and  how 
we  go  about  it  to  reason.  Comparison  forms  the  basis 
of  judgment.  It  also  forms  the  basis  of  reasoning. 
We  compare  hard  woods  with  oak  as  a  standard.  We 
compare  a  good  orator  with  Bryan.  We  compare  one 
hotel  with  another.  We  compare  one  line  of  goods 
with  another  that  is  well  known.  This  gives  us  a  basis 
of  comparison  as  to  which  is  better  or  worse. 

QWe  compare  two  ideas  and  therefore  get  reas- 
sons  for  forming  a  judgment.  We  compare  two  more 
ideas  and  get  reasons  for  forming  another  judgment. 
We  then  take  the  final  judgments  and  compare  them. 
We  again  have  reasons  for  making  or  forming  a  later 
judgment. 

,C[ Reason  is  "the  faculty  or  capacity  of  the  human 
mind  by  which  it  is  distinguished  from  the  intelligence 
of  the  lower  animals;  the  higher  as  distinguished  from 
{the  lower  cognitive  faculties,  sense,  imagination,  and 
memory,  and  in  contrast  to  the  feelings  and  desires. 
Reason  comprises  conception,  judgment,  reasoning  and 
the  intuitional  faculty.  We  have  no  other  faculties 
of  perceiving  or  knowing  anything,  divine  or  human, 
but  by  our  five  senses  and  our  reason." 

C£"Due  exercise  of  the  reasoning  faculties;  ac- 
cordance with,  or  that  which  is  accordant  with  and 
ratified  by,  the  mind  rightly  exercised;  right  intel- 
lectual judgment;  clear  and  fair  deductions  from  true 
principles;  that  which  is  dictated  or  supported  by 
the  common  sense  of  mankind;  right  conduct;  right 
propriety;  justice." 

CJ"To  exercise  the  rational  faculties;  to  deduce 
inferences  from  premises;  to  perform  the  process  of 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  137 

induction  or  deduction;  to  reach  conclusions  by  a  sys- 
tematic comparison  of  facts." 

Inductive  and  Deductive  Reasoning. 

(T  Before  we  finish  this  subject  of  conviction  we 
must  go  one  step  further  with  the  subject  of  reason. 
There  are  two  kinds  of  reason, — inductive  and  deduct- 
ive. I  simply  want  to  define  them  and  give  this  ex- 
planation here.  The  objective  mind  reasons  both  in- 
ductively and  deductively,  but  the  subjective  mind  only 
reasons  deductively. 

C[ Inductive  reasoning  is  "the  act  or  process  of 
reasoning  from  a  part  to  a  whole,  from  particulars  to 
generals,  or  from  the  individual  to  the  universal. ' ' 

QJohn  Stuart  Mill,  says:  "Induction  is  the  pro- 
cess by  which  we  conclude  that  which  is  true  of  certain 
individuals  of  a  class,  is  true  of  the  whole  class,  or  that 
what  is  true  at  certain  times  will  be  true  in  similar 
circumstances  at  all  times." 

C[It  is  "a  process  of  demonstration  in  which  a 
general  truth  is  gathered  from  an  examination  of  par- 
ticular cases,  one  of  which  is  known  to  be  true." 

C["In  induction  we  observe  a  sufficient  number 
of  individual  facts,  and  on  the  ground  of  analogy, 
extend  what  is  true  of  them  to  others  of  the  same  class, 
thus  arriving  at  general  principles  or  laws.  This  is 
the  kind  of  reasoning  in  physical  science.  In  deduction 
we  begin  with  a  general  truth,  which  is  already  proven 
or  provisionally  assumed  and  seek  to  connect  it  with 
some  particular  case  by  means  of  a  middle  term  or 
class  of  objects  known  to  be  equally  connected  with 
both.  Thus  we  bring  down  the  general  into  the  par- 
ticular, affirming  of  the  latter  the  distinctive  qualities 


138          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

of  the  former.  This  is  the  syllogistic  method.  By  in- 
duction Franklin  established  the  identity  of  lightning 
and  electricity.  By  deduction  he  inferred  that  dwell- 
ings might  be  protected  by  lightning  rods. ' ' 

Deductive  Logic. 

C£I  wish  to  give  two  illustrations  of  deductive 
logic.  The  first  is  true — the  second  is  not,  but  they 
are  both  logical.  Logic  is  the  science  of  correct  rea- 
soning. But  logic  does  not  stop  to  ask  whether  the 
statement  is  true  or  false. 

QHere  is  the  first  syllogism: 

Q  Roosevelt  is  a  man. 

QMan  is  mortal. 

Q  Therefore  Roosevelt  is  mortal. 

C£You  see  my  first  statement  or  premise  is  cor- 
rect, therefore,  the  conclusion  is  correct. 

C£Here  is  the  other: 

C[  Every  salesman  is  rich. 

C[You  are  a  salesman. 

C£  Therefore,  you  are  rich. 

C[You  see  my  first  premise  or  statement  is  wrong, 
and,  therefore,  my  conclusion  is  wrong. 

Success  Based  upon  Truth  of  Argument. 

Qlf  the  basis  of  your  argument  or  selling  talk 
is  wrong,  your  conclusion  will  be  wrong  and  your  work 
will  end  in  failure. 

C[  Analyze  your  statements.  See  that  they  are 
true.  Unless  they  are  you  will  end  in  failure.  You 
see  how  honesty  leads  to  success. 

C£A  very  able  salesman  has  offered  this  advice 
and  it  is  pertinent  here.  "You  must  get  a  man's  con- 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  139 

fidence,  but  you  will  never  get  a  man's  confidence  by 
lying  to  him.  You  must  tell  him  the  truth,  but  what 
good  will  it  do  to  tell  him  the  truth  when  he  doesn't 
know  you  are  telling  the  truth?  Tell  him  something 
he  absolutely  knows  is  true  and  then  he  will  believe 
the  rest." 

QThis  may  seem  like  a  long  and  difficult  dis- 
cussion on  the  subject  of  conviction,  but  it  is  abso- 
lutely essential  in  order  to  do  justice  to  the  subject 
and  justice  to  the  student.  It  will  need  a  good  deal 
of  study  in  order  to  be  thoroughly  understood.  From 
the  time  you  get  your  man  interested  until  he  is 
thoroughly  convinced,  he  makes  a  great  many  ob- 
jections, and  it  is  difficult  to  bring  his  mind  back  to 
the  arrow.  But  conviction  as  to  the  value  of  the  goods 
will  do  it. 

Creating  Desire. 

QThe  next  step  for  us  to  consider  is  creating  the 
desire.  But  some  of  us  will  say  if  we  have  already 
produced  conviction  we  must  of  necessity  have  created 
desire.  But  that  is  not  always  true.  I  may  be  con- 
vinced that  a  threshing  machine  is  a  good  thing  and 
still  not  desire  it.  I  may  be  convinced  that  an  auto- 
mobile is  a  good  thing  and  still  not  desire  it,  because 
I  may  not  think  it  is  to  my  advantage.  I  may  be 
convinced  that  a  certain  retail  business  is  a  profitable 
business  and  still  not  desire  it.  And  yet  conviction 
and  desire  are  so  closely  related  in  the  human  mind 
that  in  many  cases  they  may  seem  almost  inseparable. 

C[In  many  cases  an  individual  desires  an  article 
as  soon  as  he  is  convinced  that  it  is  a  good  thing  and 
to  his  advantage.  But  even  then  the  conviction  pre- 
cedes the  desire  if  only  by  a  small  fraction  of  time. 


140          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 


want  to  make  this  so  clear  that  there  will 
be  no  misunderstanding,  so  that  the  student  may  be 
able  to  bring  about  the  desired  result,  not  only  because 
he  understands  the  processes  but  because  he  knows 
how  to  create  them  by  bringing  about  the  correct  in- 
fluence. 

Interest  and  Desire,  Emotions  Different. 

(TWe  have  seen  that  the  mental  emotion  that 
arouses  interest  is  an  entirely  different  emotion  from 
the  emotion  that  creates  desire.  One  may  be  interested 
through  curiosity  or  because  the  subject  or  proposi- 
tion is  new  and  attractive,  but  still  not  desire  it.  De- 
sire is  "to  long  for,  to  hanker  after,  request,  solicit, 
entreat.  The  natural  longing  that  is  excited  by  the 
enjoyment  or  the  thought  of  any  good,  and  impels 
to  action  or  effort  for  its  continuance  or  possession;  an 
eager  wish  to  obtain  or  enjoy." 

C£Note  carefully  the  impulses  and  emotions  that 
must  be  excited  and  aroused  in  order  to  create  desire. 
Profit,  pleasure,  satisfaction,  enjoyment,  pride,  envy 
and  a  desire  to  make  a  showing  and  keep  on  an  equality 
with  someone  else.  These  are  the  prominent  emotions 
that  must  be  appealed  to.  Study  them  and  study  the 
best  methods  of  reaching  and  controlling  them.  You 
can  do  it  now  ten  times  as  well  since  you  have 
had  them  not  only  pointed  out,  but  the  method  of 
controlling  them  made  plain. 

will  illustrate  this  part  of  the  Law  of  Sale. 

young  man  came  into  a  clothing  store  and 
asked  the  clerk  to  show  him  a  $15.00  overcoat.  The 
clerk  showed  it  to  him  but  did  not  exhibit  much  en- 
thusiasm in  doing  it.  After  he  had  tried  on  that 
overcoat  the  clerk  induced  him  to  put  on  a  $20.00 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  141 

coat.  He  then  commenced  to  use  salesmanship.  He 
showed  him  it  was  a  better  fit,  better  cloth,  and  better 
made  and  that  he  would  have  a  better  standing  among 
his  business  associates  with  this  particular  coat  than 
were  he  to  take  the  cheaper  one.  He  asked  the  man 
to  view  himself  in  the  glass.  Finally  he  said,  "come 
up  to  the  fitting  room."  He  did  not  ask  the  young 
man  if  he  would  go  to  the  fitting  room.  He  did  not 
ask  him  if  he  was  going  to  take  the  coat,  all  of  which 
would  have  been  negative  suggestions  and  might  have 
killed  the  sale.  He  not  only  took  it  for  granted  the 
man  was  going  to  the  fitting  room,  but  he  took  it  for 
granted  he  was  going  to  buy  the  coat.  So  in  starting 
to  the  fitting  room  he  not  only  said  "Come"  but  made 
a  gesture  for  him  to  accompany  him.  The  cutter  meas- 
ured the  coat,  taking  it  for  granted  all  the  time  that 
the  man  had  bought  the  coat,  and  consequently  made 
suggestions  accordingly.  The  man  took  the  coat  off 
and  left  it  to  be  adjusted,  paid  his  $15.00  (all  he  had 
with  him)  and  left,  saying  he  would  pay  the  $5.00  yet 
due  when  he  came  for  the  coat. 

(£That  salesman  made  a  $5.00  sale.  The  cus- 
tomer came  in  after  a  $15.00  coat,  bought  a  $20.00 
coat  and  was  better  satisfied.  He  sold  himself  the 
$15.00  coat.  The  clerk  sold  him  the  extra  $5.00 
worth. 

QBut  somebody  says:  "That  won't  happen  very 
often."  Well,  supposing  it  doesn't.  How  often  has 
a  man  been  elected  President  of  the  United  States  in 
recent  years  without  putting  forth  every  possible  ef- 
fort in  order  to  win?  Let  us  suppose  this  method 
only  wins  once  out  of  three  times,  or  even  once  out 
of  ten  times  without  in  any  way  antagonizing  his  cus- 
tomers. It  just  adds  that  much  more  value  to  the 
selling  ability  of  the  salesman. 


142          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 


The  Psychology  of  Putting  the  Garment  on. 


want  to  call  your  attention  to  one  thing  in 
this  connection  that  might  escape  your  notice.  This 
salesman  created  his  customer's  desire  for  the  coat 
after  the  customer  put  the  coat  on.  Do  you  realize 
that  as  soon  as  an  individual  puts  on  a  garment  and 
looks  at  himself  in  the  glass,  that  garment  immediately 
and  unconsciously  becomes  part  of  him.  A  feeling  of 
ownership  immediately  asserts  itself.  Put  on  a  hat, 
a  coat,  a  pair  of  gloves  or  a  pair  of  shoes  and  if  they  fit, 
you  want  to  keep  them.  Your  spirit  of  ownership  un- 
consciously asserts  itself.  That  is  the  reason  every 
good  salesman  induces  his  customers  to  put  on  the 
shoes,  gloves  or  garments,  although  he  may  not  know 
himself,  what  the  psychological  effect  is.  If  you,  as 
a  salesman,  are  not  selling  goods  that  can  be  put  on, 
a  somewhat  similar  effect  can  be  produced  by  letting 
him  handle  them. 

Operating  Machine  Helps  Make  Sale. 

C[If  I  were  selling  automobiles  I  would  get  the 
man  into  the  car,  —  not  in  the  back  seat,  —  but  into 
the  front  seat,  and  if  practical,  would  let  him  run  the 
machine  part  of  the  time.  He  would,  in  this  way, 
have  his  hands  on  the  most  vital  part  of  it.  The  vi- 
bration and  pulsation  of  the  machine  would  enter  into 
his  whole  system.  He  would  unconsciously  become  a 
part  of  it  and  it  would  become  a  part  of  him.  There 
would  be  an  attraction  between  the  two,  an  affinity. 
if  you  please,  and  there  would  be  an  unconscious  as- 
sumption of  ownership.  Can't  you  apply  this  same 
principle  to  the  sale  of  any  kind  of  goods?  Certainly 
you  can.  Have  you  ever  seen  a  successful  candidate 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  143 

for  office  shake  hands  with  his  left  hand  the  day  after 
election?  His  right  hand  was  lame  from  shaking. 
Don't  you  see  the  same  principle  operating?  Human 
nature  likes  contact  with  the  thing  it  is  interested  in.  If 
I  were  selling  any  kind  of  a  machine,  typewriter,  cash 
register,  adding  machine,  etc.,  I  would  have  the  pros- 
pect operate  it. 

The  Value  of  Confidence. 

C[A  clothing  salesman  from  Northern  Missouri, 
telephoned  to  a  merchant  in  Southern  Iowa,  that  he 
was  coming  up  to  see  him.  The  merchant  said  there 
was  no  use  in  his  coming  as  he  had  just  bought  all 
he  needed.  He  had  bought  $200.00  worth.  This  sales- 
man was  a  man  who  understood  the  Mental  Law  of 
Sale  and  he  came  anyway.  I  wanted  to  sell  this  mer- 
chant a  cash  register,  and  I  finally  did,  but  when  I 
went  into  his  store  he  was  busy  with  the  salesman  to 
whom  he  had  telephoned  not  to  come.  I  waited  half 
a  day  before  I  could  see  the  merchant.  Finally  the 
salesman  got  through  and  I  asked  him  how  much  he 
sold  and  he  said  $650  worth.  What  did  it?  A  good 
personality  and  the  Mental  Law  of  Sale,  for  he  ad- 
mitted to  me  that  his  goods  were  no  better  than  his 
competitors'.  What  will  an  individual  not  do  when 
desire  has  been  aroused  to  white  heat? 

Q  After  the  salesman  left  I  thought  I  would  find 
out  from  the  merchant  just  why  he  bought  so  heavily 
when  he  had  not  intended  to  buy  anything,  so  I  said 
to  him:  "That  salesman  is  a  very  nice  fellow,  isn't 
he?"  The  merchant  said:  "He  certainly  is.  He  is 
the  finest  traveling  man  that  makes  this  town."  You 
see  he  had  the  merchant's  confidence,  and  confidence 
is  the  corner-stone  of  success  in  both  salesmanship  and 


144          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

business.  This  merchant  felt  that  the  salesman  was 
square,  that  he  was  honest,  that  he  was  interested  in 
him  and  in  his  success. 

The  Resolve  to  Buy. 

fl[  Desire  sustained  ripens  into  resolve  to  possess, 
and  that  is  the  next  step  in  the  Law  of  Sale.  Resolve 
to  buy  very  often  follows  so  closely  upon  the  heels  of 
desire  to  possess,  that  some  may  think  that  resolve  is 
a  part  of  desire.  But  it  is  not.  It  is  a  distinct  step 
in  itself. 

C[I  may  be  convinced  that  a  certain  house  and 
lot  would  be  a  bargain.  I  may  desire  it  and  still  not 
resolve  to  get  it  because  I  do  not  care  to  either  assume 
the  responsibility  at  that  time  or  be  bothered  with  the 
property;  or  it  may  be  fear  that  keeps  me  from  buy- 
ing— a  negative,  baseless  fear.  My  mind,  therefore, 
goes  off  on  a  tangent  and  it  must  be  brought  back  to 
the  arrow.  How  can  it  be  done?  Here  is  a  strenuous 
method  that  I  sometimes  use.  I  say  something  like 
this:  ''Let  us  suppose  that  you  and  I  are  off  here 
in  the  corner  of  this  room  trying  to  figure  out  together 
a  method  whereby  we  can  both  make  some  money. 
Now  if  I  make  this  sale  I  will  make  a  little  money,  a 
small  profit  once,  but  it  will  be  very  small  in  compari- 
son with  your  profit  which  will  be  continuous.  You 
have  made  a  careful  study  of  this  proposition.  You 
are  absolutely  convinced  it  is  to  your  advantage.  Your 
reason  and  judgment  absolutely  assure  you  that  this 
is  to  your  advantage.  Your  judgment  is  your  court 
of  last  resort.  You  are  compelled  to  act  in  accordance 
with  it  in  order  to  do  yourself  justice.  If  you  fail 
to  act  in  accordance  with  your  own  best  interests  and 
your  own  best  judgment,  you  become  at  once  an  enemy 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  145 

to  your  own  best  interests.  You  stand  in  your  own 
light.  You  simply  rob  yourself  of  so  much  money 
that  rightfully  belongs  to  yourself,  your  wife  and  your 
children.  When  I  am  absolutely  assured  that  my  prop- 
osition is  to  a  man's  advantage  and  will  make  him 
money,  and  then  fail  to  urge  him  to  take  it,  I  feel 
that  I  am  not  doing  him  justice.  I  am  not  giving 
him  a  square  deal.  I  feel  just  that  way  about  this  prop- 
osition, and  that  is  the  reason  I  am  so  insistent.  When 
you  get  it  and  make  the  profit  out  of  it  these  other 
men  are  making  whose  recommendations  I  have  shown 
you,  and  who  are  similarly  situated,  you  will  thank 
me  for  inducing  you  to  decide  and  inducing  you  to 
decide  now." 

C[This  argument  arranged  to  suit  the  particular 
situation  has  helped  me  to  induce  a  lot  of  people  to 
make  the  purchase. 

Closing  the  Order. 

C£"A11  right,"  the  prospect  says,  "I  will  take  it 
but  not  before  the  Holidays  or  Spring,"  or  some  such 
time  three  or  four  months  in  the  future.  His  mind  goes 
off  on  another  tangent — away  past  the  bull's  eye.  You 
have  approached  him  correctly.  You  have  gotten  his 
attention,  aroused  his  interest,  produced  conviction, 
created  his  desire,  produced  resolve  to  buy.  In  other 
words  you  have  done  six-sevenths  of  the  work.  Are 
you  now  going  to  lose  the  sale  after  doing  all  the 
hard  work  and  getting  so  close  to  the  order?  Here 
now  comes  your  supreme  effort.  You  are  to  exercise 
the  supreme  resolution  of  your  mind  to  make  the  sale 
and  make  it  now,  if  it  is  best. 

C£Let  us  examine  the  situation  a  bit.  If  you  are 
selling  a  specialty,  whether  you  have  competition  or 


146          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

not,  you  should  close  the  order  and  close  it  now  if 
you  can.  Right  here  is  where  the  good  salesman  adds 
largely  to  his  income. 

C£But  let  us  suppose  that  you  are  not  a  specialty 
salesman.  Let  us  suppose,  for  illustration,  you  are 
selling  paint.  Selling  paint  is  very  much  like  selling 
any  line  of  goods  to  the  retailer.  Let  us  suppose  that 
Mr.  Merchant  says  he  will  take  the  paint  but 
he  won't  take  it  until  such  and  such  a  time.  What 
are  you  to  do?  In  some  few  cases  it  is  wiser  not  to 
push  the  sale  than  to  push  it.  Let  us  suppose  you 
let  him  go,  and  when  you  come  back  three  months 
hence  you  find  him  stocked  up  with  the  other  fellow's 
paint.  What  would  you  think?  That  very  thing  will 
happen  many  times  unless  you  are  such  a  master  of 
suggestion  and  can  paint  such  a  vivid  picture  on  the 
tablets  of  his  memory  that  no  other  salesman  can  possi- 
bly sell  him.  In  order  to  hold  a  merchant  you  must 
sell  him  more  than  mere  paint.  You  must  sell  him 
both  service  and  information.  In  order  to  ap- 
peal to  him  in  such  a  way  as  to  hold  him,  you  must 
show  him  that  you  are  not  only  willing,  but  able  to 
give  him  such  selling  information  that  you  will  actually 
help  him  to  sell  the  paint.  If  you  can  show  him  that 
a  certain  kind  of  paint  applied  to  a  certain  kind  of 
shingle  containing  a  certain  kind  of  natural  oil,  will 
rot  and  ruin  the  shingle,  but  that  another  kind  of 
paint  acting  in  conjunction  with  the  natural  oil  of 
the  shingle  will  preserve  it,  you  have  given  that  mer- 
chant an  idea  that  will  aid  him  greatly  in  selling  paint. 
The  merchant  likes  to  deal  with  such  a  salesman.  His 
competitor  who  does  not  have  this  information  will 
have  no  chance  to  sell. 

QThe  above  is  one  of  the  methods  used  by  N.  P. 
Sturges,  the  famous  paint  salesman  for  Heath,  Milli- 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  147 

gan  &  Co.  Mr.  Sturges  captures  the  yearly  prizes 
offered  by  Heath  &  Milligan  for  their  best  salesman 
in  the  United  States.  Mr.  Sturges  never  urges  a  sate 
when  he  is  convinced  the  time  is  not  ripe  to  sell,  but 
he  is  such  an  artist  in  the  use  of  suggestion  that  the 
merchant  waits  for  him  to  return.  It  is  a  rare  thing 
for  a  competitor  to  sell  to  one  of  Mr.  Sturges'  cus- 
tomers. That  is  the  reason  he  gets  such  a  big  salary. 

QWhat  is  true  of  the  paint  business  is  equally 
true  of  shoes,  dry  goods,  clothing,  groceries,  and  simi- 
lar lines. 

C£If  you  persist  in  selling  a  man  when  your  good 
judgment  tells  you  that  it  isn't  wise  for  him  to  buy- 
until  you  come  around  next  time,  the  chances  are 
you  will  make  him  "sore."  But  if  you  are  not  ex- 
tremely wise  and  careful  you  will  be  too  easy  and  lose- 
heavily  for  that  reason.  The  fact  that  a  man  says 
he  does  not  want  anything,  does  not  mean  much.  The 
salesman  who  sells  only  to  the  man  who  already  wants 
something  will  not  make  money  enough  to  pay  his  rail- 
road fare.  Be  diplomatic,  but  firmly  persistent.  If 
you  are  going  to  overdo  either  side,  by  all  means  overdo 
the  side  of  persistence.  I  have  spent  seven  days  in  a 
man's  store  on  five  different  occasions  before  I  sold 
him  a  Cash  Register.  If  I  had  not  fought  it  out  with 
him  in  this  way  I  would  not  have  made  the  sale.  I 
have  known  a  specialty  salesman  to  follow  a  man  all 
day  in  his  store,  watch  every  move  in  order  to  get  in- 
formation that  would  help  him  close  the  sale.  Per- 
sistent concentration  and  bulldog  determination  did  it- 

i 

Evidence  and  How  to  Use  It. 

QThis  lesson  would  not  be  complete  without  a 
short  discussion  on  the  subject  of  evidence.  Evidence,. 


148          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

is  that  which  is  "clear  to  the  understanding  and  sat- 
isfactory to  the  judgment."  Hume  says:  "To  con- 
form our  language  more  to  common  use,  we  ought  to 
divide  arguments  into  demonstrations,  proofs,  and 
probabilities;  by  proofs  meaning  such  arguments  from 
experience  as  leave  no  room  for  doubt  or  opposition." 

,C£I  hope  the  above  statement  will  give  a  fairly 
clear  idea  of  what  is  meant  by  evidence.  I  will  use 
illustrations  in  order  to  make  this  subject  of  evidence 
absolutely  clear,  practical  and  helpful  to  every  sales- 
man. There  are  two  kinds  of  evidence,  viz.,  evidence 
which  is  sworn  to  by  eye-witnesses,  or  direct  evidence, 
and  circumstantial  evidence.  I  want  to  illustrate  what  I 
mean  by  circumstantial  evidence.  Part  of  a  bolt  of  a  pe- 
culiar colored  silk  forty  inches  wide  was  stolen  from 
a  store.  A  certain  man's  house  was  searched  and  what 
seemed  to  be  the  silk  was  found,  but  the  man  declared 
he  bought  the  silk  in  a  certain  store  in  another  town. 
The  silk  was  taken  to  the  store  and  it  was  found  that 
it  did  not  conform  in  either  color  or  width  to  the 
silk  in  the  store  where  the  man  said  he  got  it,  as  the 
silk  in  that  store  was  36  inches  wide,  while  that  par- 
ticular bolt  was  40  inches  wide.  The  silk  was  brought 
back  to  the  store  from  where  it  was  supposed  to  have 
been  stolen  and  it  was  the  same  color,  the  same  width 
and  the  two  torn  ends  exactly  matched.  This  is  cir- 
cumstantial evidence. 

QHere  is  the  way  I  have  used  evidence  in  sell- 
ing National  Cash  Registers.  I  have  made  a  demon- 
stration and  showed  how  valuable  the  Register  would 
be  to  the  merchant;  then  shown  a  list  of  recommen- 
dations and  said:  "If  what  I  have  said  is  true  and 
what  these  people  say  is  true,  it  would  be  to  your 
financial  advantage  to  have  this  Register,  would  it 
not?"  "Yes,  but  how  do  I  know  it  is  true?"  "Mr. 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  149 

Blank,  here  is  a  list  of  merchants  who  use  this  kind 
of  a  Register  and  who  live  within  twenty  miles  of  here. 
I  will  make  you  this  proposition;  visit  any  or  all  of 
these  merchants.  If  they  tell  you  their  Registers  are 
as  profitable  to  them  as  they  have  indicated  in  their 
endorsements,  and  even  more  so,  you  can  afford  the 
trip  because  it  is  to  your  financial  advantage  to  be  sure 
of  it,  isn't  it?  If.  on  the  other  hand  they  are  not  so 
enthusiastic  as  I  have  indicated,  or  if  they  tell  you 
their  Registers  are  not  so  profitable  as  I  have  tried 
to  make  you  believe,  then  I  will  pay  your  car  fare 
and  $10.00  a  day  for  your  time  when  gone.  That  is 
fair,  isn  't  it  ?  In  the  face  of  my  offer  you  cannot  afford 
to  turn  this  proposition  down,  can  you?"  You  see 
my  proposition  establishes  the  confidence  that  might 
otherwise  be  lacking. 

C£The  evidence  which  I  have  to  offer  comes  from 
a  multitude  of  merchants  similarly  situated.  The  evi- 
dence is  absolute,  and  no  man  or  group  of  men  could 
or  would  ignore  it  in  any  court  of  law  in  the  land. 
And  when  a  man  does  ignore  it,  he  prostitutes  reason 
and  judgment.  He  admits  he  is  not  considering  the 
proposition  on  the  basis  of  intelligence  and  profit, 
unless  he  has  some  particular  reason  for  not  buying. 

Profit  the  Object  of  Business. 

CT  Selfishness  is  the  controlling  emotion  in  the- 
average  man's  life — in  other  words  the  desire  for  pro- 
fit. Proof  of  this  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  prosperity 
argument  controls  a  national  election.  A  man  is  in 
business  for  profit  and  not  for  pleasure.  As  soon  as 
you  show  him  your  proposition  will  profit  him  you  have 
given  him  the  main  reason  why  he  should  buy. 


150          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

C£Did  you  ever  realize  that  prosperity  always 
follows  good  judgment  and  that  "out-of  date  methods 
do  not  satisfy  up-to-date  employers?" 

The  Value  of  the  Reserve  Selling  Talk. 

C£ Reserve  selling  talk:  Get  the  order  as  quickly 
as  you  can  and  with  as  little  talk  as  possible.  Do 
not  go  into  details  at  first.  Sketch  the  outline  of  your 
proposition,  simply  giving  the  main  points.  If  you 
fail  to  get  an  order  as  a  result  of  this  preliminary 
selling  talk,  then  call  on  your  reserve  which  should 
be  almost  unlimited.  Your  first  talk  should  be  crisp 
and  right  to  the  point.  If  you  fail  to  land  the  order 
with  this  talk,  you  will  discover  the  objections  and 
that  will  guide  you  as  to  the  kind  of  a  reserve  talk 
to  make.  There  are  several  good  reasons  for  making 
your  first  talk  brief.  First:  what  is  the  use  of  wearing 
yourself  out  giving  a  long  demonstration  if  it  is  not 
necessary.  Second:  You  cannot  interest  a  boy  for  an 
hour  by  showing  him  an  elephant's  head  when  the  rest 
of  the  body  is  near,  but  covered.  He  will  get  anxious 
to  see  the  whole  elephant.  Third:  Give  a  bird's-eye 
view  of  your  whole  subject  first,  or  your  hearer  will 
tire  and  you  cannot  hold  his  interest.  Fourth:  Going 
into  details  as  you  go  along  gets  tiresome;  there  is 
not  a  mental  conception  of  the  whole,  and  a  part  will 
not  hold  the  interest.  Fifth:  When  you  give  a  bird's- 
eye  view  at  first  you  find  out  how  and  why  your 
hearer  is  interested.  This  gives  you  a  clue  to  his  in- 
terests, desires,  and  needs. 

Answering  Objections  Removes  Reason 
for  Not  Buying. 

C£When  a  man  makes  an  objection  for  not  making 
the  purchase,  answer  the  objection  and  close  the  order 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  151 

at  once.  When  you  answer  his  objection,  you  remove 
his  reason  for  not  buying,  then  why  shouldn't  you 
close  the  order  at  once? 

(TAsk  yourself  this  question:  What  reason  has 
my  prospect  for  making  this  purchase?  You  must 
know  the  reasons,  and  then  give  them  to  him  in  such 
a  way  that  they  are  bound  to  produce  conviction. 

(^Objection:  "I  feel  that  I  know  a  good  deal 
now."  Yes,  so  do  the  Mayo  brothers  of  Rochester, 
Minnesota.  Tfrey  are  the  greatest  surgeons  in  the 
world,  but  in  order  to  remain  great  they  find  it  neces- 
sary to  have  twenty-five  assistant  doctors.  Some  of 
these  doctors  are  away  all  the  time.  They  send  them 
all  over  the  world  in  search  of  new  ideas  and  new 
methods  in  surgery.  In  that  way  they  have  won  a 
large  part  of  their  international  fame,  and  in  that 
way  they  propose  to  keep  it. 

Be  Serious  when  Closing  Order. 

.QWhen  coming  up  to  the  order  point  do  not 
joke  or  act  as  though  you  were  working  the  fellow. 
Do  not  make  any  remark  about  having  a  nice  pen  and 
you  want  to  see  how  it  will  write  his  name.  That  is 
distracting  and  more  or  less  demoralizing.  You  ought 
to  act  with  the  same  seriousness  as  when  presenting 
your  arguments. 

Coming  Up  to  Order  Point. 

,QI  will  give  you  a  method  that  you  can  use  in 
selling  any  line  of  goods.  At  this  point  the  prospect 
is  very  much  interested  and  acts  as  if  he  might  buy, 
but  he  hasn't  said  so.  "Mr.  Brown,  this  machine  has 
three  finishes,  the  nickle,  bronze  and  gold.  Which  fin- 


152          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

ish  appeals  to  you  most  or  which  do  you  like  best?" 
If  he  says,  "Well,  which  do  you  consider  best?"  Give 
him  your  opinion  and  your  reason.  That  induces  him 
to  express  a  preference  one  way  or  the  other.  Fall 
in  line  with  his  opinion  immediately,  and  say,  "All 
right,  I  will  just  make  it  this  finish."  When  he  asks 
your  preference  you  are  pretty  sure  he  has  decided  to 
buy  and  if  he  permits  you  to  put  down  that  particular 
finish  without  a  protest,  you  are  about  nine-tenths  sure 
of  him.  You  come  in  a  little  closer  with  your  next 
question.  You  might  say,  "Most  people  are  satisfied 
to  wait  and  get  their  machine  by  freight,  but  a  good 
many  are  anxious  to  get  it  as  soon  as  possible,  and  so 
have  it  come  by  express.  Would  you  want  it  by  ex- 
press, or  are  you  willing  to  wait  for  about  thirty  days 
until  you  can  get  it  by  freight?" 

Two  Affirmative  Methods  of  Deciding. 

iQYou  see  here  I  have  given  him  two  methods 
of  decision,  but  notice,  neither  one  gives  him  a  chance 
to  say  no  in  regard  to  the  proposition.  I  have  abso- 
lutely taken  it  for  granted  he  is  going  to  buy.  I  have 
taken  the  idea  of  buying  entirely  out  of  his  mind.  I 
have  concentrated  his  mind  on  something  else, — the 
method  of  getting  it.  This  is  a  great  point.  Study 
it  carefully.  Here  is  the  way  the  greatest  newsboy  in 
the  world  handles  the  same  point.  He  meets  me  and 
says,  "Want  a  paper?"  Oh,  no,  he  doesn't.  He 
would  not  be  the  richest  newsboy  in  the  world  if  he 
did.  He  says,  "Which  do  you  want,  a  Record- 
Herald  or  a  Tribune?"  He  takes  it  for  granted 
I  want  one  of  the  papers,  not  that  I  might  want  a 
paper. 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  153 

When  You  Satisfy  Curiosity  You  Lose  the 
Interesl^-A  Law  of  Human  Nature. 

(C£Here  is  a  little  point  that  lost  an  automobile 
salesman  a  sale.  The  prospect  got  to  the  point  where 
he  said,  ''How  soon  can  you  get  it  for  me?"  Just  look 
at  that  question  for  a  minute  and  think.  The  right 
answer  to  that  simple  little  question  has  made  a  lot  of 
profit;  the  wrong  answer  has  lost  a  lot  of  sales.  The 
salesman  said,  "I  can  get  it  for  you  right  away." 
Doesn't  that  seem  to  be  a  good  answer?  Yes,  but  don't 
you  see  it  is  likely  to  take  the  edge  off  a  man's  curios- 
ity? Let  us  suppose  he  had  resorted  to  the  old  ex- 
pedient of  answering  the  question  by  asking  another 
one.  Let  us  suppose  he  had  said,  ""Well,  how  soon 
do  you  want  it?"  Don't  you  see  that  such  a  question 
would  have  put  the  prospect  on  the  defensive  and  re- 
quired a  definite  decision  from  him?  It  would  give  him 
a  definite  chance  to  commit  himself  one  way  or  the  other 
and  left  you  free  to  take  immediate  advantage  of 
his  decision.  Suppose  he  had  said,  "I  want  it  just 
as  soon  as  you  can  get  it."  The  salesman's  next  move 
would  have  been  to  say,  "All  right,  we  will  rush  the 
order  at  once.  Put  your  name  right  here,  please."  If 
he  had  said,  "I  don't  want  it  for  a  month,"  "All 
right,"  you  can  say,  "we  will  have  it  for  you  at  that 
time.  Sign  your  name  on  this  line  here,"  or  I  have 
very  often  simply  handed  the  man  the  pen,  pointed 
to  the  line  and  said,  "On  this  line,  right  here,  please." 
This  is  what  I  call  "closing  strategy."  The  princi- 
ples I  give  you  are  fundamental  and  applicable  to  the 
sale  of  anything.  In  this  Mental  Law  of  Sale  I  am 
giving  principles  and  their  application. 

QThe  man  behind  the  counter  employs  the  same 
methods  in  closing  when  he  says,  "Do  you  want  to 


154          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

take  it  with  you  or  do  you  want  it  delivered?"  You 
haven't  said  you  would  take  the  goods  but  you  act 
that  way  and  he  decides  for  you  by  asking  you  a  ques- 
tion that  can  be  answered  either  one  of  two  ways,  but 
either  way  commits  you. 

The  Leave  Taking. 

,Q  After  closing  an  order  or  failing  to  close  it,  there 
is  one  thing  of  considerable  importance  which  we  must 
consider,  and  that  is  the  leave  taking.  In  leaving  an 
individual,  treat  him  with  courtesy  and  consideration. 
Leave  him  with  a  good  impression  of  you  whether  he 
buys  or  not.  We  cannot  lay  too  much  stress  upon 
the  appeal  to  the  finer  feelings  and  instincts.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  world  that  costs  so  little  and  is  worth 
so  much  as  courtesy.  It  is  an  outward  expression  of 
an  inward  kindness.  It  is  the  great  lubricator  of 
business  and  of  life. 

,C[I  am  going  to  give  you  another  illustration  of 
the  Mental  Law  of  Sale.  I  pass  by  a  tree  of  red  ripe 
cherries  in  June.  They  attract  my  attention.  I  am 
immediately  interested.  I  am  convinced,  as  a  result 
of  my  past  experience  with  cherries,  that  they  are  good. 
I  desire  a  bunch.  I  resolve  to  get  them.  I  stop,  reach 
up  and  pick  them.  My  mind  went  through  these 
processes  almost  instantly  but  the  different  steps  or  di-. 
visions  were  there  just  the  same. 

Continuity  of  Thought. 

iC[In  this  lesson  I  have  referred  slightly  to  thought 
continuity,  but  I  want  you  to  realize  how  very  im- 
portant it  is.  Suppose,  for  illustration,  that  you  start 
a  train  on  a  track  and  that  all  of  a  sudden  the  train 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  155 

comes  to  the  end  of  the  track.  You  know  as  well  as 
I  do  that  the  train  would  land  in  the  ditch  in  a 
broken  heap.  Suppose  you  get  a  man  greatly  inter- 
ested in  a  train  of  thought.  Suppose  his  train  of 
thought  is  coming  your  way  at  the  rate  of  an  order 
in  half  an  hour,  and  he  is  abruptly  called  away  for  a 
few  minutes  and  must  therefore  concentrate  his  mind 
on  something  else  in  the  meantime.  What  happens? 
Your  train  of  thought  is  thrown  into  a  heap  in  the 
ditch.  I  might  also  say  it  is  as  hopelessly  ditched 
as  the  train  of  cars. 

Planting  an  Idea  and  Seeing  it  Grow. 


will  go  back  to  the  beginning  and  show  you 
how  this  works.  Every  idea  which  enters  the  mind 
immediately  tends  to  express  itself  in  action,  unless 
some  other  idea  going  in  another  direction  cuts  it  off. 
Or,  as  the  psychologists  say,  "Inhibits  it."  To  my 
mind  this  is  the  most  fundamental  principle  in  psy- 
chology for  the  salesman  to  consider.  If  we  could 
just  get  this  principle  thoroughly  grounded  in  our  lives 
it  would  mean  a  great  deal  to  us  intellectually,  and 
financially  as  well. 

C£  Remember  when  you  are  trying  to  sell  a  man 
a  bill  of  goods  every  idea  you  plant  in  his  mind  im- 
mediately tends  to  make  him  act  in  accordance  with 
your  suggestion,  providing  you  give  him  real  vital 
ideas;  then  stop  when  you  have  given  him  enough  to 
make  him  want  what  you  have  to  sell.  When  you  do 
this  watch  your  customer,  notice  the  effect  of  every 
idea  you  give  him;  just  as  soon  as  you  have  his 
desire  created  so  that  he  is  aroused  sufficiently  to  act 
in  accordance  with  the  ideas  you  have  given  him,  close 


156          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

the  order  at  once  before  another  idea  going  in  an- 
other direction  makes  him  determine  to  change  his- 
mind. 

Breaking  the  Chain  of  Thought. 

C£You  have  had  innumerable  experiences  of  the- 
kind  indicated  where  your  prospective  customer  was 
called  away  from  you.  He  had  time  to  think  inde- 
pendently for  a  minute.  The  continuity  of  your  argu- 
ment was  broken,  another  idea  flashed  through  his  mindr 
and  he  said,  "No,  I  guess  I'll  not  decide  to-day."  You 
have  oftentimes  lost  your  sale  right  on  that  incident. 
Sometimes  you  have  convinced  him  over  again,  after 
using  more  effort  than  you  did  the  first  time,  but 
usually  you  lost  the  order.  The  loss  of  this  sale  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  continuity  of  your  thought 
was  broken,  in  fact,  the  spell,  the  atmosphere  which 
you  had  created  around  him,  was  broken.  A  new  idea 
flashed  through  his  mind  and  you  lost  your  order.  I 
consider  the  subject  of  continuity  worth  a  year's  study 
and  experiment  in  order  to  perfect  it. 

C£In  this  connection  I  wish  to  consider  two  other 
points  of  vital  importance,  the  ignorance  of  which 
causes  a  salesman  a  lot  of  loss. 

The  Irrelevant  Idea  Dangerous. 

C£The  first  consists  in  introducing  an  irrelevant 
idea,  an  idea  that  bears  no  direct  relation  to  the  sub- 
ject under  discussion.  This  something  which  you  in- 
ject may  seem  insignificant,  it  may  seem  trivial,  it 
may  be  only  a  'joke,  but  it  breaks  the  continuity  of 
your  thought.  Your  main  argument  is  sidetracked. 
The  man  changes  his  mind  in  an  instant  as  if  by  in- 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  157 

tuition,  because  you  aroused  a  different  emotion,  and 
remember,  you  were  the  one  who  gave  him  the  negative 
suggestion  which  sent  his  mind  running  in  a  different 
•channel.  Yiou  were  the  unconscious  cause  of  losing  the 
sale.  You  did  not  even  know  how  it  happened.  Learn 
to  concentrate. 

Talking  Too  Much. 

:C[The  other  point  I  referred  to  consists  in  talk- 
ing too  much,  getting  so  much  interested  in  your  propo- 
sition that  you  are  not  paying  attention  to  the  effect 
your  talk  is  having  upon  your  listener.  A  prize  fighter 
doesn't  pound  his  antagonist  until  he  is  down  and  out 
and  then  keep  on  pounding  him.  Even  he  knows  better 
than  that,  but  many  salesmen  do  not.  A  carpenter 
doesn't  drive  his  nail  after  it  is  clear  in  and  clinched, 
or  he  will  loosen  it.  Many  a  salesman  pounds  away 
at  an  order  after  it  is  thoroughly  clinched  in  the  other 
man's  mind.  He  talks  the  man  into  it  and  then  bores 
him  so  that  he  talks  him  out  of  it.  Such  a  man  fails 
without  ever  knowing  why,  and  believes  that  no  one 
«ould  have  gotten  the  order.  He  made  the  sale  and  lost 
it  but  did  not  realize  it.  Many  such  men  do  not  believe 
that  salesmanship  can  ~be  taught.  They  are  ignorant  of 
certain  laws  of  sale,  and  what  is  far  worse,  they  are 
ignorant  of  their  ignorance.  We  do  not  need  "human 
windmills  and  verbal  cyclones"  but  salesmen  of  alert 
brains  and  quick  judgment. 

Knowing  When  to  Close  the  Order. 


have  field-trained  salesmen  who  did  not  know 
when  to  take  an  order.  I  have  seen  them  come  up  to  the 
point  where  their  prospect  was  ready  to  buy,  then 


158          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

talk  in  a  circle  for  two  minutes  and  talk  the  prospect 
out  of  buying.  I  found  it  necessary  to  form  a  signal 
code  with  the  salesman  in  order  to  get  him  to  close 
when  he  should.  The  salesman  who  works  out  his  own 
salvation  on  the  field  loses  a  lot  of  business  and,  there- 
fore, a  lot  of  profit  that  might  be  his. 

Q"  Every  salesman  knows  the  value  of  the  actual 
demonstration — of  having  his  goods  on  the  ground  so 
that  the  prospect  can  see  and  feel  and  understand. 
Give  your  man  a  definite  idea  of  what  you  have  to 
offer.  Picture  the  article,  its  use,  its  advantages  so 
vividly  that  it  swims  before  his  mental  eye. 

Proving  Your  Case  Creates  Desire. 

XI "But  your  prospective  customer  must  have  proof 
of  your  statements.  Proof  or  argument  follows  logi- 
cally after  explanation.  Its  object  is  to  create  desire. 
It  is  not  enough  to  give  your  prospect  an  idea  of  the 
nature  or  make-up  or  working  principles  of  the  thing 
you  are  selling  him.  You  must  reinforce  these  by  ar- 
guments, proving  to  him  the  advantage  of  the  purchase, 
the  saving  that  he  will  effect  in  his  business,  the  in- 
creased efficiency  he  can  attain  in  his  work,  the  pleasure 
he  will  derive  from  the  article.  Proof  may  be  pre- 
sented by  showing  the  satisfaction  which  the  article 
has  given  to  other  buyers  or  by  some  novel  demon- 
stration of  its  quality  and  value. 

C[" Persuasion,  on  the  heels  of  argument,  inten- 
sifies desire.  Here  the  prospect  must  be  shown  tact- 
fully how  possession  of  the  article  will  bring  benefit  to 
him  personally. 

,(£"  Possibly  the  best  kind  of  persuasion  is  the 
subtle  suggestion  which  pictures  to  the  prospect  the 
satisfaction  or  actual  gain  which  ownership  would 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  159 

bring.  Argument  is  giving  a  man  evidence  that  will 
prompt  him  to  act  of  his  own  volition.  Persuasion  is 
the  added  influence  of  the  salesman's  personality  that 
brings  action  when  the  man  himself  hesitates. 

The  Final  Advantage. 

C£"You  know  how  the  clever  salesman  manipu- 
lates his  talking  points,  always  holding  back  till  the 
last  some  extra  reasons  why  you  should  accept  his 
proposition.  And  it  culminates  in  the  climax  or  the 
clincher.  As  you  hesitate,  undecided  whether  or  not 
to  order,  the  shrewd  salesman  shoots  at  you  one  last 
advantage  which  he  has  held  in  reserve." 


Suggestive  Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Why  is  the  science  of  mechanics  so  much  better 
known  than  the  science  of  salesmanship  f 

2.  Why  has  the  business  man  failed  to  advance 
as  he  should? 

3.  Which  step  in  the  Mental  Law  of  Sale  do  you 
consider  most  important,  and  whyf 

4.  How  do  you  prove  to  a  man  that  it  is  to  his 
advantage  to  buyf 

5.  Do  you  believe  in  going  into  details  in  your 
first  selling  talk? 

6.  Write  a  selling  talk  of  one  hundred  words.   Use 
as  your  subject  a  pair  of  shoes,  a  suit  of  clothes,  a 
typewriter,  or  some  familiar  article.     Go  to  the  shoe 
shop,  clothing  store  or  typewriter  office  and  have  the 
salesman  give  you  a  careful  demonstration.     Make  a 
critical  study  of  your  subject. 


LESSON  VIII. 


»o+o«- 

jfWentai  lato  of  feale-c 

HE  previous  lesson,  on  the  Mental  Law  of 
Sale,  will  not  only  furnish  food  for  a  lot 
of  serious  thought,  but  it  will  show  you 
clearly  how  the  mind  is  analyzed  and  how 
it  can  be  influenced.  It  will  take  a  lot  of 
real  study  to  thoroughly  understand  the  last  lesson, 
but  when  you  once  understand  it,  the  knowledge  gained 
will  enable  you  to  wield  a  power  and  an  influence  over 
people  that  you  never  dreamed  possible. 

C[The  aim  of  this  lesson  is  to  throw  more  light 
on  the  Mental  Law  of  Sale  and  give  you  a  clearer  in- 
sight into  its  use  in  influencing  people  in  every  walk 
of  life  and  every  phase  of  society,  business,  politics 
and  diplomacy.  The  world's  leaders  are  not  necessarily 
the  great  scholars,  nor  the  men  of  commanding  intel- 
lect, but  rather  the  men  who  understand  human  nature. 
— how  to  interpret  it  and  how  to  influence  people. 

(QHugh  Chalmers  says,  "Next  to  the  importance 
of  what  you  say,  is  the  way  in  which  you  say  it.  It 
is  so  in  talking.  It  is  so  in  advertising.  It  is  so  in 
salesmanship." 

Value  of  Having  a  Definite  Object  in  Mind. 

,C[  Remember  the  arrow  in  the  Mental  Law  of 
Sale  chart.  You  must  have  a  definite  object  in  mind 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  161 

when  you  attempt  to  make  a  sale.  Why  are  you 
going  to  make  the  sale?  Get  the  object  fixed 
definitely  in  your  mind  and  then  work  with  all  your 
might  to  carry  it  out,  or,  hit  the  bull's  eye.  If  you 
haven't  a  definite  object  in  mind  you  won't  get  any- 
where. It  will  be  like  shooting  with  your  eyes  shut. 
This  "Object"  business  is  applicable  to  advertising, 
salesmanship,  addressing  an  audience,  committee  meet- 
ing, writing  a  book  or  selling  anything.  Why?  Don't 
you  see  it  is  because  it  is  in  harmony  with  the  Mental 
Law  of  Sale? 

Success  or  Failure  Depends  Upon  Quality 
of  Salesmanship. 

G" Whenever  we  have  dealings  with  one  another, 
whether  on  matters  of  business  or  otherwise,  the  natur- 
al laws  of  salesmanship  are  operating,  and  the  ulti- 
mate result — whether  success  or  failure — depends  up- 
on the  quality  of  salesmanship  exercised  on  our  part." 
"The  impressions  which  we  convey  to  others  govern 
our  progress  financially  and  otherwise.  To  make  the 
right  kind  of  an  impression,  therefore,  is  the  all  im- 
portant thing."  Ex- Secretary  Shaw  says:  "I  have 
won  more  law  suits  by  my  opening  statements  than  in 
any  other  way."  Why  did  he  exercise  such  care  in 
his  opening  statements?  Kemember,  he  sold  books 
and  fruit  trees  several  summers  when  he  was  a  student. 
He  says  he  succeeded  by  gaining  the  customer's  con- 
fidence. All  through  life  he  has  realized  the  great 
value  of  these  fundamental  principles  which  I  am  em- 
phasizing so  strongly,  and  he  has  used  them  to  great 
advantage  in  winning  national  fame  as  a  lawyer,  gov- 
ernor, cabinet  officer,  orator  and  financier. 


162          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 


Don't  Always  Shake  Hands. 

When  you  call  upon  a  business  man  introduce 
yourself  in  a  kindly,  agreeable  way.  It  is  not  best  to 
always  shake  hands  with  him.  That  must  be  decided 
by  circumstances.  Some  men  will  resent  it,  others  will 
appreciate  it.  The  egotistical  and  self-important  man 
is  likely  to  resent  it.  But  if  you  do  not  shake  hands 
with  a  man  when  you  meet  him,  you  may  do  so  when 
the  interview  ends.  In  that  way  you  leave  a  stronger 
impression. 

i  C[  Always  make  an  appointment  with  a  man  to 
see  your  samples  as  soon  as  possible  and  at  a  time  that 
will  be  convenient  for  him.  If  the  appointment  is 
during  business  hours,  do  not  go  to  your  sample  room 
and  wait,  for  half  of  the  business  men  will  forget 
about  an  appointment  or  forget  to  look  at  their  watches, 
and  you  cannot  afford  to  lose  the  time.  In  order  to 
save  time,  call  at  his  place  of  business  at  the  appointed 
time  and  have  him  go  with  you. 

House  to  House  Salesmanship. 

C£If  you  are  making  a  house  to  house  canvass,  the 
ideal  way  is  to  ring  the  bell,  step  back  about  six  feet 
from  the  center  of  the  door,  or  if  anything  a  little 
nearer  the  opening  side.  When  the  woman  comes  to> 
the  door  she  is  mentally  expecting  a  friend.  She  is 
obliged  to  open  the  door  wide  in  order  to  see  you. 
The  moment  you  see  her,  catch  her  eye  and  hold  it 
for  a  moment;  at  the  same  time  raise  your  hat,  bow 
politely,  and  move  toward  the  door.  You  go  through 
these  motions  during  a  time  that  is  too  short  to  de- 
scribe. In  most  cases,  where  you  are  not  working  in 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  163 

larger  cities,  the  woman  will  expect  you  to  go  in.    You 
expect  to  go  in  and  you  do  go  in. 

C£  Sometimes  the  individual  who  comes  to  the  door 
will  ask  you  what  you  want.  You  should  know  the 
name  of  the  individual  you  wish  to  see.  You  will  very 
often  get  in  by  saying,  ' '  Is  this  Mrs.  Brown  ?  I  want  to 
talk  with  you  for  a  minute  on  a  matter  of  business." 
While  saying  this  indicate  that  you  wish  to  go  in.  Don't 
say,  "I  want  to  see  you,"  otherwise  she  is  likely  to  say, 
"You  can  see  me  right  here."  If  she  still  persists  in 
keeping  you  out  and  wants  to  know  what  you  want,, 
give  her  a  general  answer.  Do  not  be  specific  if  you 
can  help  it.  If  you  are  selling  literary  works  of  any 
kind  you  might  say,  "I  am  engaged  in  educational 
work.  You  have  some  children,  haven't  you?  I  was 
referred  to  you  by  Mrs.  So  and  So  who  thought  you 
might  be  interested  in  what  I  am  doing."  If  she  is 
still  curious  and  says,  "Well,  what  is  it?"  You  can 
very  easily  say,  "I  will  just  step  in  and  show  you." 
You  can  apply  this  method  to  almost  anything  you 
are  selling,  changing  it  to  suit  your  proposition  and 
the  circumstances,  but  do  not  discuss  your  proposition 
on  the  doorstep  unless  as  a  last  resort. 

A  Clever  Method  of  Getting  In. 

C£Here  is  a  clever  method  used  by  a  salesman 
for  a  large  concern,  when  the  girl  comes  to  the  door. 
The  home  was  a  very  prominent  one  and  the  girl  said, 
"Have  you  a  card  to  send  up?"  He  said,  "No,  just 
tell  Dr.  Blank  that  Mr.  So  and  So  is  waiting  for  him 
in  the  library.  He  will  understand."  His  name  was 
so  peculiar  he  knew  the  girl  couldn't  possibly  remem- 
ber it.  The  fact  that  he  told  her  to  tell  Dr.  Blank 
he  would  be  waiting  in  the  library  and  that  Dr.  Blank 


164          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

would  understand,  made  it  imperative  on  her  part  to 
let  him  in.  He  had  been  there  before  and  failed  in 
his  mission.  He  succeeded  this  time.  Study  this  meth- 
•od.  It  is  clever. 

C£In  introducing  yourself  be  natural  and  agreeable. 
That  is,  be  natural  if  you  are  agreeable,  and  know  how 
to  smile.  You  must  learn  how  to  smile  or  you  will 
never  succeed  as  a  salesman.  I  do  not  mean  a  sickly, 
forced  grin,  but  a  smile  that  indicates  that  its  owner 
is  living  in  peace  and  harmony  with  all  the  world. 
Some  faces  radiate  disagreeableness,  others  good-will; 
some  meanness,  others  kindness.  You  cannot  think 
&n  evil  thought  and  smile  at  the  same  time.  You  can- 
not think  of  defrauding  someone  and  smile  at  the  same 
time.  If  you  try  it,  the  smile  will  be  transformed 
into  a  cynical  sneer.  Your  face  is  a  looking-glass  that 
reflects  the  images  within.  You  cannot  get  away  from 
it.  To  look  at  some  men's  faces  you  would  think  they 
hadn't  laughed  for  a  year  and  you  would  think  if 
they  did  laugh  it  would  crack  the  enamel  upon  their 
faces.  The  agreeable  face  is  another  evidence  of  hon- 
esty —  and  honesty,  character  and  success  go  together. 

Mental  Attitude  Determines  Success. 


you  take  on  the  actions  and  bearing  of  a 
tramp  or  a  clown,  your  mind  will  almost  immediately 
gravitate  toward  your  bearing.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
you  draw  in  the  chin,  expand  the  chest,  and  attempt 
to  look  the  part  of  a  successful  business  man,  your  mind 
will  immediately  respond  to  the  auto-suggestion.  A 
man's  mental  attitude  determines  his  dress  and  ap- 
pearance, his  environment  and  his  success.  I  cannot 
emphasize  this  thought  too  vigorously. 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  165 

C£If  you  approach  a  prospect  and  he  is  busy  and 
you  know  it,  ask  him  when  it  would  be  most  con- 
venient for  him  to  give  you  (state  the  length  of  time) 
say,  five  minutes,  if  you  only  need  a  little  time.  You 
can  nearly  always  make  an  appointment.  "When  you 
do,  leave  at  once,  but  the  fact  that  you  only  ask  five 
minutes  will  induce  your  prospective  customer,  in  many 
cases,  to  offer  you  the  time  right  then.  If  he  does,. 
get  busy  at  once.  Cut  out  preambles  and  useless  in- 
troductions. Plunge  into  the  heart  of  the  matter  in 
language  that  is  logical  and  carries  an  unmistakable 
power  to  convince.  When  your  five  minutes  are  up, 
do  one  of  three  things  —  get  the  order,  get  out,  or  get 
an  invitation,  either  verbal  or  assumed,  to  stay  longer. 

Man  Says  No  to  What  He  Does  Not 
Understand. 


ntroducing  yourself  properly,  and  getting  the 
attention  of  your  man  directed  your  way,  are  two 
entirely  different  things.  A  majority  of  the  people  you 
meet  will  say,  "No,  I  do  not  want  anything,  and  do 
not  care  to  look  at  it."  Of  course  they  do  not  want 
anything  about  which  they  know  absolutely  nothing. 
A  man  wouldn't  want  a  million  dollar  gold  mine  un- 
less his  attention  was  cleverly  attracted  to  it.  Remem- 
ber, that  no  man  is  interested  in  what  he  knows  noth- 
ing about.  And  right  here  I  am  going  to  crystallize 
this  law.  It  is  a  law  of  the  human  mind  which  directs 
the  mind  to  say  "no"  to  what  it  does  not  understand. 
Chauncey  M.  Depew  says  it  is  forty  years  from  the  time 
an  idea  is  originated  among  the  people  until  it  is  in- 
corporated into  national  law.  So  do  not  be  discouraged 
when  you  hear  the  word,  "No."  In  most  cases  it  does 
not  mean  that  you  cannot  sell.  It  means  that  the  man 


16 6          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

is  not  aware  of  the  value  of  your  product.  You  must 
make  him  realize  its  value.  If  you  cannot  get  his 
attention  it  means  that  you  have  not  yet  mastered 
the  secret  of  successful  personal  appeal.  How  can 
we  expect  prominent  business  men  to  take  an  interest 
in  our  proposition  unless  we  are  first  interested  enough 
in  their  business  to  study  their  needs. 

Leave  when  Sale  is  Closed. 

Q  Never  stay  with  a  man  after  you  have  taken 
his  order  and  thoroughly  clinched  it.  If  you  do  you 
-are  killing  his  time  and  your  own,  and  he  might 
change  his  mind  and  cancel  the  order. 

Q  There  are  a  great  many  new  inventions  on  the 
market  that  are  revolutionizing  business.  Every  busi- 
ness man  is  under  obligation  to  himself  to  see  what 
,you  have. 

0£No  first-class  salesman  uses  a  card  to  intro- 
duce himself.  When  you  present  a  card  your  prospect 
looks  at  the  card  and  away  from  you.  In  so  doing  you 
lose  his  eye  and  your  influence  is  sidetracked. 

How  to  End  an  Interview. 

,C[The  following  is  the  best  method  of  ending  an 
interview  which  you  desire  to  end  immediately.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  world  which  business  needs  more  than 
•courtesy,  and  we  have  all  too  little  of  it.  I  have  known 
a  traveling  man  to  enter  a  store  when  the  proprietor 
was  busy  waiting  upon  a  customer.  The  proprietor 
would  see  him  but  pay  no  attention  to  him.  When 
through  with  the  customer  he  would  go  over  to  his 
desk  and  busy  himself  with  his  books — that  is,  appar- 
ently he  would,  but  in  reality  he  was  simply  killing 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  167 

time  with  the  hope  that  Mr.  Traveling  Man  would  leave 
without  approaching  him.  Finally  when  he  was  ap- 
proached he  would  act  more  like  a  bear  than  a  civilized 
man.  Without  looking  up  he  would  say  something  like 
this,  "No,  I  don't  want  anything  to-day  and  I  haven't 
time  to  talk  to  you."  He  would  leave  the  traveling 
man  standing  right  by  his  desk  without  a  word  of 
civilized  greeting  or  dismissal.  This  gave  the  travel- 
ing man  either  a  chance  to  begin  a  verbal  battle,  or 
retreat  in  confusion. 

C[In  contrast  with  this  uncivilized,  unbusinesslike 
and  unprofitable  method  of  handling  the  public,  I  wish 
to  show  you  how  a  gentleman  and  a  diplomat  accom- 
plishes the  same  end.  Here  is  the  method  used  by  the 
late  Senator  Gorman  of  Maryland  in  dismissing  a 
salesman.  The  salesman  approached  the  Senator  and 
stated  the  object  of  his  visit.  The  Senator  said,  "I 
am  very  glad  to  meet  you  but  I  am  very  sorry  that  my 
time  is  so  taken  up  that  I  am  unable  to  devote  the 
time  to  look  into  your  proposition."  The  Senator  then 
arose  and  walked  to  the  door  with  his  visitor.  When 
he  reached  the  door  he  extended  his  hand  very  cordially 
and  said,  "I  am  very  glad  to  have  met  you  and  only 
sorry  that  I  cannot  give  your  proposition  the  consider- 
ation which  I  am  sure  it  deserves,"  and  then  ushers 
him  out.  This  is  the  kind  of  diplomacy  that  trans- 
formed Senator  Gorman  from  a  page  in  that  great  body 
into  one  of  its  great  leaders.  What  a  blessing  to  this 
country  such  courtesy  and  such  diplomacy  would  be ! 

Launch  Argument  with  Logic  then 
Make  the  Appeal. 

C£The  successful  salesman  is  the  one  who  knows 
how  to  successfully  combine  the  logical  with  the  emo- 


168          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

tional  argument.  Remember  that  every  proposition 
you  present  must  be  launched  with  a  logical,  reason- 
able argument.  After  that  you  can  make  your  appeal. 
Most  people  want  facts  and  they  base  their  decision 
upon  these  facts. 

Ability  to  Influence  Secret  of  Leadership. 


ability  to  influence  is  the  secret  of  leader- 
ship, and  the  ability  to  influence  is  based  upon  the 
knowledge  of  human  nature  and  how  to  manipulate 
it.  If  you  know  human  nature  and  thoroughly  under- 
stand the  scientific  principles  of  salesmanship  you  can 
play  upon  the  keys  of  human  nature  with  the  same 
marvelous  skill  that  a  brilliant  pianist  plays  upon  the 
keys  of  a  piano.  (See  Knox's  Complete  Course.) 

C[Why  was  Wendell  Phillips  such  a  great  orator? 
"Why  was  John  B.  Gough  able  to  play  the  whole  gamut 
of  human  passion  and  emotion?  Why  was  he  able  to> 
play  upon  the  keyboard  of  human  nature  with  such 
marvelous  results?  Why  was  he  able  to  touch  a  sym- 
pathetic chord  in  every  human  heart?  It  was  because 
he  knew  human  nature  in  all  its  forms.  He  knew  its 
strength  and  he  knew  its  weakness.  He  knew  men  and' 
he  knew  women.  He  knew  how  to  convince  by  his  logic, 
and  persuade  by  his  eloquence.  He  knew  how  to  make 
people  laugh  and  cry.  Do  you?  He  knew  their  pas- 
sions and  he  knew  their  impulses,  and  he  knew  what 
to  say  in  order  to  reach  and  influence  their  minds  and 
hearts.  Do  you?  It  will  pay  you  to  read  the  speeches 
of  the  world's  greatest  orators.  In  this  way  you  will 
learn  the  secret  of  an  orator's  power.  The  secret  of 
a  salesman's  power  is  much  the  same.  Profit  by  the 
successful  experiences  of  others.  It  is  not  what  you 
know  that  will  keep  you  down,  it  is  what  you  do  not 
know. 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  169 


Get  the  Note-book  Habit. 

Q  Every  time  you  hear  a  sermon  or  lecture,  or 
get  an  idea  from  a  newspaper  or  magazine  which 
will  help  you  in  your  business,  take  out  your  note- 
book then  and  there,  no  matter  where  you  are,  and  jot 
it  down.  If  you  wait  you  will  forget  it.  Talk  that 
point  at  your  first  opportunity.  It  will  be  fresh  and 
you  can  use  it  enthusiastically. 

C[  Every  salesman  should  have  a  good  illustra- 
tion or  two  to  use  with  every  selling  point.  He  will 
have  them  if  he  jots  them  down  as  he  finds  them. 
I  have  carried  a  notebook  for  several  years.  It  has 
been  worth  hundreds  of  dollars  to  me.  I  could  not 
have  prepared  these  lessons  without  it.  I  have  not 
only  used  it  to  keep  a  record  of  the  good  ideas  I  have 
found,  but  I  have  used  it  to  capture  my  own  ideas. 
Every  man  will  originate  a  good  idea  occasionally.  In 
most  cases  he  cannot  retain  it  unless  he  writes  it  down. 
I  aim  to  commit  to  memory,  not  only  my  own  ideas 
but  all  the  other  good  ideas  I  can.  If  you  will  fol- 
low this  method  carefully  for  a  year,  it  will  greatly  en- 
rich your  mind,  increase  your  efficiency  and  show  you 
the  necessity  of  continuing  it.  It  is  said  that  Bishop 
Vincent's  great  lectures  and  sermons  grew  out  of  this 
method.  The  man  who  gets  the  note-book  habit  will 
make  himself  greatly  superior  to  the  man  who  doesn't. 
And  the  man  who  gets  the  study  habit  is  the  only 
man  who  has  a  chance  of  success  in  the  future. 

The  Why  of  Objections. 

,C£We  will  next  consider  the  subject  of  objections. 
"Why  does  a  man  make  an  objection?  Doesn't  he  usual- 
ly do  it  because  he  is  still  more  interested  in  his  money 


170          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

than  he  is  in  the  article  you  are  trying  to  sell  him? 
Do  you  see  the  underlying  principles  here?  Then  the 
proper  thing  to  do  in  most  cases  is  to  find  out  the 
reason  for  that  objection  and  go  after  that.  When 
we  remove  the  objection  we  make  the  sale.  We  must 
go  deeper  than  the  objection  itself.  The  thing  for  you 
to  do  is  to  dig  back  into  your  reserve  and  give  him 
such  an  inspiring  talk  that  he  will  get  so  interested 
in  what  you  want  him  to  buy  that  he  feels  bound  to 
get  it  because  he  hasn  't  any  excuses  left.  Of  course,  peo- 
ple make  excuses  sometimes  because  it  is  a  habit  and 
because  they  haven't  anything  else  to  say,  or  because 
they  want  to  feel  satisfied  with  the  proposition.  Do 
not  take  objections  too  seriously  is  my  advice.  You 
know  men  often  buy  tobacco  and  drink,  even  though 
they  have  to  beg  the  money  to  get  it.  They  get  it 
because  they  are  intensely  interested  in  it.  Get  them 
to  desire  your  goods  and  you  will  sell  them. 

QThe  answer  to  an  objection  in  one  epigram- 
matic sentence  very  often  gets  the  order,  because  it 
absolutely  clinches  the  idea  in  the  man's  mind  and 
routs  his  unbelief,  while  if  your  answer  had  been  stated 
in  different  language  you  might  have  lost  your  order. 
For  example:  It  isn't  what  it  will  cost  that  you  want 
to  consider,  but  what  it  will  cost  if  you  don't  get  it. 
That  is  what  you  want  to  think  about. 

You  Cannot  Offend  and  Influence  at  the 
Same  Time. 


salesman  should  never  argue.  Burn  this 
into  your  memory.  You  cannot  influence  and  antago- 
nize at  the  same  time.  A  salesman  is  not  in  the  field 
to  run  counter  to  individual  opinions  and  prejudices 
on  political,  religious  and  a  thousand  other  subjects. 
He  is  out  there  to  sell  goods  and  to  argue  is  fatal. 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  171 

A  salesman  should  give  assent  as  much  as  possible 
to  what  is  said,  providing  it  is  not  important,  and 
when  he  cannot  do  that  he  had  better  not  say  any- 
thing. You  can  lead  the  conversation  and  do  it  so 
skillfully  that  the  other  fellow  thinks  lie  is  leading  it. 
For  instance,  when  you  know  a  certain  insurance  pol- 
icy is  best  for  a  man 's  needs,  talk  that  and  nothing  else. 
Concentrate  his  mind  upon  it  and  you  eliminate  compe- 
tition. 

Answer  Objections  by  Intercepting  Them. 

C[The  skillful  salesman  nearly  always  intercepts 
and  answers  an  objection  before  it  is  made.  When  an 
objection  does  come  up  he  answers  it  at  once  and 
turns  it  into  an  advantage.  "When  you  are  asked  the 
price  of  an  article  I  do  not  mean  to  say  you  are 
to  consider  that  an  objection  and  answer  it  immediate- 
ly. It  is  not  always  wise  to  tell  the  price  at  the 
beginning  of  your  selling  talk  because  the  prospect 
will  likely  think  of  the  price  instead  of  what  you  say. 
"When  the  subject  of  price  comes  up  you  might  say 
something  like  this:  "I  will  go  into  that  a  little 
later,"  or,  "If  I  were  to  give  you  the  price  now  be- 
fore you  had  looked  into  the  benefits  of  this  article, 
you  might  be  thinking  about  the  price  and  not  about 
the  profit  to  be  derived  from  it.  On  the  other  hand, 
after  you  have  investigated  it  you  may  not  want  to 
get  along  without  it,  regardless  of  price.  It  is  not 
a  question  of  price  that  you  care  about.  It  is  a  ques- 
tion of  how  much  profit  it  will  make  you,  how  big 
a  dividend  on  your  money  invested.  You  don't  care 
what  an  article  costs  provided  it  pays  you  from  twen- 
ty-five to  fifty  per  cent,  dividend  on  the  investment, 
do  you?"  I  do  not  mean  that  all  this  is  to  be  used 
at  any  one  time,  but  it  is  suggestive. 


172          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

C[  Every  objection  should  make  a  salesman  strong- 
er. Where  the  cost  of  the  article  is  very  small  and 
it  only  takes  a  short  time  to  consider  it,  of  course,  it 
is  wise  to  state  the  price  when  asked,  or  make  a  point 
of  telling  it  before  you  are  asked. 

Two  Kinds  of  Objections. 

,C£  There  are  two  kinds  of  objections, — the  personal 
kind  and  the  critical  kind.  The  personal  objection  is 
always  hardest  to  answer  as  the  person  who  makes  it 
is  usually  stubborn  or  prejudiced.  A  man  sometimes 
says  he  has  made  up  his  mind  and  could  not  be  in- 
duced to  change  it.  You  might  remind  him  that  there 
are  exceptions  to  every  rule,  and  you  believe  if  his 
judgment  tells  him  that  it  is  to  his  advantage  to  make 
the  purchase,  you  believe  he  is  too  wise  a  man  to  let 
any  personal  opinion  or  prejudice  stand  in  his  way. 
Or  you  might  remind  him  of  Lincoln's  saying  that, 
"The  foolish  and  the  dead  alone  never  change  their 
minds."  It  is  plain  then  that  it  is  the  wise  man  who 
changes  his  opinion. 

QHere  are  some  common  objections  and  their  an- 
swers: "It  costs  too  much."  "However,  Mr.  Blank, 
if  you  could  figure  out  that  it  will  make  money  for 
you,  you  would  look  upon  it  as  a  good  investment, 
would  you  not?  Really,  it  is  not  what  an  article  costs 
but  the  profit  there  is  in  it  that  you  always  consider. 
If  this  article  costs  you  $500.00,  but  earned  you  from 
20  to  40%  on  the  investment,  you  would  consider  it 
a  good  investment,  would  you  not?  You  would  con- 
sider it  a  good  investment  if  it  made  you  only  10% 
as  you  can  only  get  3  or  4%  from  the  bank.  An  ar- 
ticle that  makes  or  saves  you  money  is  not  an  expense. 
It  is  an  investment.  Note  carefully  the  difference. 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  173 

The  clothes  you  wear  are  an  expense,  but  of  course 
a  necessary  one.  So  is  the  house  you  rent  or  own. 
But  this  article,  as  you  can  see  with  your  own  eyes, 
will  make  you  such  a  saving  that  you  cannot  possibly 
otherwise  make,  that  it  will  pay  for  itself  within  five 
years  and  go  on  repaying  for  itself  every  five  years 
thereafter.  This,  then,  is  not  an  expense,  as  you  can 
see,  but  a  big  dividend-paying  investment."  You  can 
use  the  same  argument  when  the  article  increases  his 
business. 

The  Great  Difference  Between  an  Expense 
and  an  Investment. 

iQ"Do  you  say  you  would  like  to  hire  assistants 
but  they  cost  too  much?  No.  An  assistant  is  an  in- 
vestment. The  one  and  only  reason  you  have  for  pay- 
ing him  wages  is  that  he  will  earn  for  you  enough 
money  to  pay  back  his  cost  and  a  profit  besides.  This 
article  will  do  the  same  thing.  If  I  offered  to  sell  it 
to  you  for  10  cents, — one-fiftieth  part  of  its  real  cost — 
and  it  would  not  make  or  save  you  10  cents  you  would 
not  want  it.  But  if  I  should  ask  you  ten  times  as 
much  as  I  do  ask  you  and  it  would  make  or  save 
you  a  good  profit,  then  you  ought  to  get  it,  ought  you 
not?  This  article  will  pay  for  itself  and  make  you 
a  good  profit.  This  you  realize.  "When  it  will  do  that 
you  ought  to  have  it,  no  matter  what  it  costs.  If  it 
will  not  do  that  you  do  not  want  it  as  a  gift.  Isn't 
that  right? 

(["Remember  there  are  two  values  to  every  pur- 
chase. What  it  costs  and  what  it  saves  or  earns. 
Please  do  not  confuse  them.  Cork  costs  four  cents 
a  pound  but  if  you  were  drowning  its  value  would 
be,  not  what  cork  costs  you  but  what  cork  saves  you. 


174          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

Do  not  confuse  the  two  values  by  seeing  what  you 
pay  and  overlooking  what  you  save.  You  judge  a  man 
or  a  dollar  by  its  earning  power.  You  pay  a  man 
wages  according  to  the  results  he  gets.  Judge  this 
proposition  in  the  same  way.  What  would  be  a  high 
price  for  one  man  would  be  a  low  price  for  a  better 
man." 

What  Not  to  Do  in  Seeking  a  Position. 


young  man  applying  for  a  position  can 
make  splendid  use  of  every  principle  taught  in  this 
course.  How  good  a  position  a  young  man  gets  or 
how  much  money  he  gets,  depends  upon  his  ability  to 
sell  his  services  as  well  as  his  ability  to  do  the  work. 
Very  few  young  men  realize  that  in  selling  their  ser- 
vices they  are  selling  goods  just  as  surely  as  if  they 
were  selling  cotton,  corn,  silk  or  automobiles.  And  the 
man  who  buys  their  services  does  so  with  the  idea  of 
profit  just  the  same  as  buying  any  line  of  goods. 

Qln  seeking  a  position  I  would  never  approach  an 
employer  with  a  cigar  or  cigarette  in  my  hand.  I  would 
never  want  an  employer  to  see  the  color  from  a  cigar- 
ette on  my  fingers.  I  wouldn't  say,  "I  reckon  you 
don  't  want  another  man,  do  you  ?  "  I  would  be  dressed 
like  a  prosperous  business  man,  not  at  all  flashy,  but 
neat  and  clean,  and  have  my  shoes  shined.  I  would 
see  that  my  clothing  harmonized.  I  wouldn  't  match  blue 
eyes  with  a  red  necktie,  a  spotted  vest,  black  coat  and 
gray  trousers.  I  would  not  offer  to  shake  hands  with  the 
man  from  whom  I  sought  a  position.  I  would  not  be 
egotistical  and  put  up  a  bigger  talk  than  my  past  record 
justified,  especially  if  he  knew  my  record.  Neither 
would  I  be  backward  or  diffident.  I  would  state  my 
case  clearly  and  vigorously.  I  would  make  a  great 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  175 

deal  bigger  hit  by  saying  my  "long  suit"  was  hard 
work,  rather  than  by  saying  I  was  a  little  brighter 
than  the  average  fellow.  I  would  never  exhibit  pes- 
simism or  any  of  the  negative  qualities.  They  are  not 
good  selling  points  unless  you  want  to  get  turned  down. 
If  you  are  asked  if  you  can  do  the  work  don't  say  you 
think  you  can.  Be  sure  to  say  you  can  and  say  it 
positively,  if  you  think  you  can.  Many  a  man  has 
gotten  a  position  through  sheer  nerve  and  made  good 
after  he  got  it.  That  possibly  is  easier  when  your 
record  to  the  contrary  is  not  known.  Getting  a  po- 
sition is  easy,  but  making  good,  "that's  the  rub." 

When  it  Paid  to  be  Prepared. 

Q  According  to  a  writer  in  "Success"  here  is  an 
argument  that  paid  handsomely.  "One  of  the  build- 
ings of  Wooster  University  burned  down  one  night. 
The  next  morning  the  youthful,  boyish-looking  presi- 
dent, Louis  E.  Holden,  started  to  New  York  City  to 
see  Andrew  Carnegie.  The  next  day  he  called  upon 
Mr.  Carnegie.  Without  useless  preliminaries  he  said, 
'Mr.  Carnegie,  you  are  a  busy  man  and  so  am  I. 
I  won't  take  up  more  than  five  minutes  of  your  time. 
The  main  building  of  Wooster  University  burned  down 
night  before  last,  and  I  want  you  to  give  us  $100,000.00 
for  a  new  one.'  'Young  man,'  replied  the  philan- 
thropist, 'I  don't  believe  in  giving  money  to  colleges.' 
'But  you  believe  in  helping  young  men,  don't  you?' 
asked  President  Holden.  'I'm  a  young  man,  Mr. 
Carnegie,  and  I'm  in  an  awful  hole.  I've  gone  into 
the  business  of  manufacturing  college  graduates  from 
the  raw  material  and  now  the  best  part  of  my  plant  is 
burned  down.  You  know  how  you  would  feel  if  one 
of  your  big  steel  mills  were  destroyed  right  in  the  busy 


176          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

season.'  'Young  man,'  said  Mr.  Carnegie,  'Raise 
$100,000.00  in  thirty  days  and  I'll  give  you  another.' 
'Make  it  sixty  days  and  I'll  go  you,'  replied  Professor 
Holden.  'Done,'  said  Mr.  Carnegie.  Professor  Holden 
picked  up  his  hat  and  started  for  the  door.  As  ha 
reached  it,  Mr.  Carnegie  called  after  him,  'Now,  re- 
member it's  sixty  days  only.'  'All  right,  sir'  said  Pro- 
fessor Holden.  Holden  was  already  half  way  down 
the  stairs.  His  call  had  consumed  just  four  minutes 
The  sum  was  raised  within  the  specified  time,  and 
when  handing  over  his  check,  Mr.  Carnegie  said,  laugh- 
ing, 'Young  man,  if  your  ever  come  to  see  me  agaiii, 
don't  stay  so  long.  Your  call  cost  me  just  $25,000.00 
a  minute.  '  ' 

Analyzing  a  Successful  Selling  Talk. 


irst.  You  will  notice  that  Professor  Holden 
dispensed  with  all  the  preliminaries  and  began  to  talk 
business  from  the  first  sentence. 

C£  Second.  I  want  you  to  notice  Mr.  Carnegie's 
objection  and  Professor  Holden  's  answer.  Holden  's 
sentence  reply  to  Carnegie's  sentence  objection  won  the 
$100,000.00.  Don't  you  think  Holden  could  well  have 
spent  five  years  of  his  life  in  special  study  in  order 
to  win  the  $100,000.00?  Suppose  Professor  Holden 
had  tried  to  answer  Carnegie's  objection,  that  he  did 
not  believe  in  giving  money  to  colleges.  If  he  had 
he  would  have  begun  with  a  tiresome  defense  of  the 
value  of  a  college  education.  But  he  didn't.  He  knew 
human  nature  particularly,  and  Carnegie's  nature  es- 
pecially, too  well  to  make  such  a  blunder.  He  knew 
that  Carnegie's  system  of  making  such  young  men  as 
Schwab  and  Corey  his  business  partners  was  the  won- 
der and  admiration  of  the  business  world.  He  well 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  177 

knew  that  Carnegie  wasn't  much  interested  in  colleges 
but  that  he  was  immensely  interested  in  young  men 
and  had  a  tender  spot  in  his  heart  for  them.  Holden 
touched  this  tender  spot.  How  did  he  do  it  so  spon- 
taneously? He  was  prepared. 

QHe  had  studied  his  proposition  in  advance.  You 
see  Prof.  Holden  used  the  language  that  the 
great  Iron  Master  was  familiar  with.  He  met  him 
on  his  own  ground.  He  did  not  use  a  single  logical 
argument.  He  knew  Carnegie  had  money  to  give,  and 
that  he  would  get  it  if  he  made  the  proper  appeal. 
He  made  the  emotional  appeal  and  it  did  the  business. 
He  won  this  money  not  because  of  his  ability  as  a 
student  of  Latin,  Greek  or  Mathematics,  but  because 
of  his  ability  as  a  salesman.  Doesn't  it  pay  to  pre- 
pare in  order  to  win  the  big  prizes  ?  Notice  that  Holden 
immediately  took  Carnegie's  mind  away  from  the  subject 
of  helping  colleges,  as  he  was  prejudiced  on  that  subject, 
and  directed  his  thought  to  a  subject  that  Carnegie 
liked.  That  was  the  subject  of  young  men.  Notice 
further  that  Holden  not  only  did  that,  but  he  did  some- 
thing else  of  strategic  importance.  He  answered  the 
objection  by  asking  a  question.  He  used  our  interrog- 
ative method.  That  immediately  placed  Carnegie  on 
the  defensive.  That  sentence  answer  crystallized  what 
might  have  been  an  hour's  argument. 

Honesty  the  Only  Road  to  Success. 

,(TThe  Mental  Law  of  Sale  would  not  be  com- 
plete were  I  to  finish  this  lesson  without  discussing 
honesty,  as  it  relates  to  truth  and  falsehood.  Some 
good  and  otherwise  well-meaning  people  seem  to  think 
that  a  man's  ability  to  sell  goods  successfully  depends 
upon  his  ability  to  lie  successfully.  A  prominent 


178          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

woman  once  told  me  that  her  son  was  a  poor  auto- 
mobile salesman  because  he  was  too  conscientious,  he 
wouldn't  lie  sufficiently  to  be  successful.  This  idea 
is  so  absurd  that  it  is  preposterous.  Nevertheless  some 
people  and  some  light-weight  salesmen  are  possessed 
with  it.  The  best  thing  that  can  possibly  be  said  about 
a  proposition  is  to  tell  the  truth  about  it,  and  tell  it 
so  clearly  that  it  can  be  understood.  The  man  who 
lies,  can  not  do  this  because  he  hasn't  the  ability.  He 
tries,  therefore,  to  substitute  falsehood  for  lack  of 
knowledge,  and  just  as  soon  as  he  does  this  his  pro- 
spective customer  realizes  it  and  loses  confidence  in 
him.  A  salesman  cannot  lie  and  get  away  with  it. 
The  man  who  tries  it  writes  falsehood,  insincerity  and 
dishonesty  in  every  line  of  his  face.  Every  man  who 
sees  him  may  read  it.  The  greatest  compliment  a  man 
can  pay  to  the  proposition  he  is  handling,  is  to  tell  the 
truth  about  it  and  tell  it  well.  If  the  proposition  will 
not  justify  it,  you  cannot  afford  to  sacrifice  your  man- 
hood in  trying  to  sell  it.  No  man  will  handle  a  poor 
proposition  unless  he  values  his  manhood  less  than 
his  profit. 

,Q[  There  never  was  greater  demand  than  there  is 
to-day  for  men  who  are  absolutely  honest  and  whose 
word  can  be  relied  upon.  There  are  not  enough  of 
these  men  in  the  business  world  to-day.  The  great  need  is 
for  salesmen  who  know  how  to  analyze  and  organize 
the  truth  in  relation  to  a  proposition,  and  drive  this 
truth  home  to  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men  in  such  a 
way  as  to  produce  conviction.  When  a  salesman  leaves 
the  truth  and  begins  to  base  his  talk  on  falsehood, 
his  statements  are  fanciful,  foolish,  illogical  and  non- 
sensical. The  one  who  hears  them  knows  they  are 
false.  He  also  knows  that  the  tone  of  the  salesman 


Mental  Law  of  Sale  179 

is  false.  When  a  salesman  disregards  his  brains  and 
the  brains  of  his  listener,  which  he  does  when  he  tries 
to  win  by  lying,  he  is  on  the  road  to  failure. 


Suggestive  Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  What  can  you  say  about  having  a  definite  ob- 
ject in  mind? 

2.  Why  do  people  turn  you  down  when  they  are 
ignorant  of  your  proposition? 

3.  What  is  the  difference  between  an  expense  and 
an  investment? 

5.  Why  did  President  Holden  close  the  sale  in  so 
few  words? 

6.  Write  an  essay  of  one  hundred  words  on  the 
bad  effects  of  lying  in  order  to  close  a  deal. 


LESSON  IX. 


-O+O" 

jiwgscstion  in 

HE  word  suggestion  means  very  little  to  the 
average  man,  and  yet  suggestion  exercises  a 
marvelous  power  in  politics,  religion,  medi- 
cine, business,  salesmanship  and  adver- 
tising. 

n  order  to  thoroughly  understand  it,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  define  it  and  analyze  it  in  such  a  way  as 
to  clearly  understand  its  action  upon  the  mind.  The 
following  definitions  by  two  of  our  great  psychologists 
will  help  us.  "By  suggestion  is  meant  nothing  more 
than  the  intrusion  of  an  idea  into  the  mind  with  such 
skill  and  power  that  it  dominates  and  for  the  moment 
disarms  or  excludes  all  other  ideas  which  might  pre- 
vent its  realization."  Let  us  remember  that  the  tend- 
ency of  every  suggestion  is  to  result  in  action  which 
is  in  harmony  with  the  suggestion. 

C£The  following  definition  of  suggestion  is  even 
stronger.  "A  suggestion  is  a  statement  made  by  one 
intelligent  being  to  another  presumably  intelligent  be- 
ing. Of  all  the  laws  of  the  human  soul,  the  law 
of  suggestion  is  the  most  important."  In  order  that 
we  may  thoroughly  understand  this  power  we  must 
first  understand  its  relation  to  the  dual  mind.  The  law 
is  stated  as  follows,  according  to  Hudson : 

C£l.  "Man  is  endowed  with  a  dual  mind,  ob- 
jective and  subjective." 

1180] 


Suggestion  in  Salesmanship  181 

C£2.  "The  subjective  mind  controls  the  functions, 
sensations  and  conditions  of  the  body." 

C[3.  "The  subjective  mind  is  amenable  to  con- 
trol by  suggestion." 

Qln  order  that  we  may  get  a  clearer  idea  of  sug- 
gestion and  its  action  upon  the  mind,  I  shall  here  at 
the  beginning  devote  a  little  time  to  an  analysis  of  the 
mind.  I  can  then  make  the  practical  application 
clearer. 

QThe  objective  mind  is  our  every  day  reasoning 
mind  which  takes  notice  of  things  by  means  of  the 
five  senses.  The  objective  mind  is  the  seat  of  judgment 
and  reason.  The  objective  mind  reasons  by  all  methods, 
inductive  and  deductive,  analytic  and  synthetic.  The 
subjective  mind  can  reason  only  by  deduction.  The 
subjective  mind  never  classifies  a  series  of  known  facts, 
and  reasons  from  them  up  to  general  principles;  but 
given  a  principle  to  start  with,  it  will  reason  deduct- 
ively from  that  down  to  all  legitimate  inferences  with 
a  marvelous  cogency  and  power.  It  is  the  seat  of  the 
emotions,  and  the  storehouse  of  memory.  It  performs 
its  highest  functions  when  the  objective  senses  are  in 
abeyance.  It  also  has  the  power  to  read  the  thoughts 
of  others,  even  to  the  minutest  details.  Notice  also 
that  the  subjective  mind  is  dependent  for  information 
upon  the  objective  mind,  "on  all  subjects  of  human 
knowledge  not  governed  by  fixed  laws." 

C[  Another  important  peculiarity  of  the  subjective 
mind  is  that  it  is  incapable  of  controversial  argument. 
This  is  an  extremely  valuable  law  for  the  salesman  to 
keep  in  mind.  Let  us  remember  that  we  cannot  an- 
tagonize and  influence  at  the  same  time.  For  this  rea- 
son a  good  salesman  will,  under  no  circumstances,  con- 
trovert what  his  prospective  customer  says,  or  argue 
with  him  in  any  way.  If  he  wishes  his  prospect  to  see 


182          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

the  situation  as  he  sees  it,  he  will  call  his  attention 
to  a  new  phase  of  the  subject  and  ask  him  if  he  will 
not  kindly  look  at  the  matter  from  that  point  of  view. 
In  fact  the  objection  of  a  customer  can  be  thoroughly 
neutralized  and  overthrown  by  the  subtle  law  of  sug- 
gestion. 

C£  Suggestion  continually  repeated  finally  results  in 
action,  because  every  idea  that  enters  the  mind  has  an 
immediate  tendency  to  result  in  action  unless  elimi- 
nated by  a  competing  idea.  Psychologically  the  secret 
of  influencing  a  mind  is  to  continually  keep  your  idea 
before  people.  Advertisers  and  manufacturers  who 
have  advertised  extensively  have  made  a  fortune  out 
of  the  use  of  this  idea.  The  salesman  uses  exactly 
the  same  method.  He  knows  how  to  adroitly  and  skill- 
fully make  such  suggestions  that  he  finally  clinches 
the  order. 

QA  suggestion  has  a  powerful  effect  when  used 
interrogatively.  This  method  is  not  only  used  to  in- 
duce a  customer  to  commit  himself  affirmatively,  but 
to  keep  him  interested  and  thinking  as  well.  After  a 
customer  commits  himself  a  few  times,  the  suggestion 
has  a  chance  to  work  and  it  does  induce  action.  Here 
are  some  interrogative  questions  which  carry  a  strong 
suggestion:  It  is  no  wonder  so  many  people  are  in- 
terested in  this  line  of  goods,  is  it?  If  there  wasn't 
a  single  special  feature  but  this  one  right  here,  this 
one  idea  would  be  worth  the  price,  wouldn't  it?  I 
guess  you  feel  like  thousands  of  people,  that  it  is  an 
opportunity  to  get  hold  of  an  article  like  this,  don't 
you? 

Q  There  are  four  kinds  of  suggestions,  positive 
and  negative,  direct  and  indirect.  The  positive  sug- 
gestion says,  This  hat  will  give  you  excellent  satis- 
faction, the  negative  suggestion  says,  You  wouldn't 


Suggestion  in  Salesmanship  183 

want  this  kind  of  a  hat  would  you  ?  The  positive  sug- 
gestion says,  You  can  get  two  collars  for  a  quarter 
and  save  a  nickel;  the  negative  suggestion  accepts  the 
fifteen  cents  for  one  collar  and  says,  That 's  all,  is  it  ? 

QThe  direct  suggestion  is  a  positive  suggestion 
made  by  one  man  to  another.  The  indirect  suggestion 
is  a  suggestion  made  by  a  third  party.  For  instance : 
I  ask  my  friend  Jones  how  he  likes  a  certain  magazine. 
Jones  tells  me  it  is  fine,  that  he  couldn't  get  along 
without  it.  That  suggestion  coming  to  me  from  Jones 
is  ten  times  as  effective  as  if  coming  from  the  man 
whose  business  it  is  to  sell  the  magazine. 

C[I  will  contrast  the  results  of  the  positive  and 
negative  suggestion.  I  will  show  you  how  sales  are 
made  by  using  the  positive  method  and  how  they  are 
lost  by  using  the  negative  method. 

QI  was  in  a  grocery  store  one  day  and  the  clerk 
said  to  his  customer,  "You  wouldn't  want  any  oranges, 
would  you?"  She  said,  "No."  Didn't  he  tell  her 
she  didn't  want  any?  "When  the  human  mind  is  in  a 
state  of  indifference,  it  can  always  be  counted  upon 
to  act  negatively  in  response  to  a  negative  suggestion. 
Every  negative  suggestion  is  an  apology,  and  yet  nine- 
tenths  of  the  salesmen  of  this  country  use  the  negative 
because  we  have  been  educated  that  way.  The  man 
who  is  so  ashamed  of  his  proposition  that  he  makes  his 
approach  with  an  apology,  is  not  making  a  sale,  but 
killing  it. 

C[A  retail  store  in  Des  Moines  has  been  very 
successful  selling  oranges  by  putting  a  beautifully 
decorated  card  in  the  window  which  said,  "The  Dr. 
says  eat  oranges,  29  cents  a  dozen."  The  suggestion 
which  that  statement  made  to  my  mind  was  this:  If 
the  doctor  says,  eat  oranges,  I  better  do  it  or  I  may 
get  sick  and  have  a  doctor  bill  to  pay. 


184          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

C[An  artist  came  to  my  office  once  with  a  picture 
in  his  hand  and  said,  "I  don't  suppose  you  want 
to  buy  a  picture,  do  you?"  I  told  him  I  didn't.  He 
said,  "I  didn't  suppose  you  did."  I  was  in  an  imple- 
ment store  one  day  when  a  farmer  came  in.  The 
dealer  said  to  him,  "You  don't  want  to  take  a  buggy 
out  with  you  to-day,  do  you?"  The  farmer  answered 
in  the  negative.  Why  shouldn't  he?  Isn't  that  the 
answer  the  dealer  expected? 

QI  wanted  to  buy  a  black  light-weight  overcoat 
a  few  days  ago  and  I  called  upon  several  of  the  cloth- 
ing stores  to  see  if  they  had  what  I  wanted.  In  one 
store  the  clerk  said,  "We  haven't  what  you  want  in 
black.  You  wouldn't  want  a  grey  oxford,  would  you?" 
I  took  his  word  for  it  and  said,  "No."  I  then  called  on 
Nicoll  the  Tailor  and  discovered  that  he  understood  the 
difference  between  positive  and  negative  suggestion. 
I  didn  't  tell  him  I  wanted  a  coat,  mind  you.  I  told  him 
I  was  just  looking,  and  that  was  the  truth.  After 
satisfying  me  with  the  goods  he  said,  "Do  you  want 
a  velvet  collar  or  a  collar  made  of  the  same  material 
as  the  coat?"  A  pair  of  positives,  notice,  and  I  hadn't 
yet  told  him  I  wanted  the  coat.  Then  he  said,  "We 
will  make  you  a  collar  of  both  kinds  and  you  can  have 
it  changed  when  you  desire  it." — A  positive  clincher. 
Then  he  showed  me  styles  and  wanted  to  know  whether 
I  wanted  it  made  loose  or  have  it  close  fitting.  He 
landed  me  with  five  positives  and  while  I  went  in  with 
the  intention  of  not  buying,  he  got  some  of  my  money 
before  I  got  out.  Positive  suggestion  did  it. 

CTLet  me  illustrate  a  negative  suggestion  in  an- 
other way.  Suppose  a  young  man  decided  to  get  mar- 
ried and  suppose  he  edged  his  way  up  to  his  lady  love 
and  said,  "Mary,  you  wouldn't  want  to  get  married, 


Suggestion  in  Salesmanship  185 

would  you?"  Do  you  think  he  would  get  her?  Not 
unless  she  thought  it  was  her  last  chance. 

(TI  went  into  a  store  one  day  to  buy  a  collar.  I 
told  the  proprietor  the  size  and  style  I  wanted.  Ig- 
noring my  statement  that  I  wanted  one  collar,  he 
opened  the  collar  box  and  said,  "How  many  do  you 
want — four?"  I  said,  "How  did  it  happen  that  you 
asked  me  if  I  wanted  four  collars  when  I  said  I  only 
wanted  one?"  He  said,  "Well,  I  thought  maybe  you 
could  use  them."  Suggestion,  you  notice.  I  told  him 
I  would  take  two.  He  said,  "The  next  time  I  will 
ask  you  to  take  eight." 

C[I  went  into  another  store  one  time  to  buy  a 
collar.  The  clerk  said,  "Something?"  I  told  him  I 
wanted  a  collar.  Now,  why  didn't  that  clerk  take  it 
for  granted  that  I  was  there  for  something  and  ask 
me  a  positive  question  instead  of  a  negative  one?  If 
that  clerk  woke  up  at  three  in  the  morning  and  found 
someone  going  through  his  pockets,  do  you  think  he 
would  raise  up  on  his  elbow  and  say,  "Something?" 
No,  he  would  know  the  man  was  in  there  for  something. 
If  the  salesman  was  in  the  mental  attitude  of  positive 
expectation,  he  would  be  more  likely  to  ask  the  man 
what  he  could  do  for  him  than  to  offer  a  sugges- 
tion of  indifference.  Indifference  is  always  negative 
and  it  is  one  of  the  most  negative  and  demoralizing  in- 
fluences among  the  salespeople  of  this  country  to-day. 

C£But  to  go  back  to  the  collar.  I  handed  him  the 
fifteen  cents  and  he  said,  "That's  all,  is  it?"  and  I 
walked  out.  Instead  of  chloroforming  my  mind  into 
inaction  by  saying  "that's  all,"  suppose  he  had  offered 
me  two  collars  for  a  quarter  and  called  my  attention 
to  ties,  shirts,  etc.,  some  of  which  articles  the  average 
man  is  usually  in  need  of.  It  is  the  business  of  the 
salesman  to-day  to  do  a  lot  of  thinking  for  his  cus- 


186          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 


tomer.     If   he    doesn't,   someone   else   whose    mind   is 
awake  will  get  a  lot  of  their  business. 

C[A  Des  Moines  clerk  told  me  that  a  man  came 
in  one  day  to  get  a  $1.50  shirt.  The  clerk  showed 
him  the  shirt  he  asked  for.  He  and  his  wife  were 
both  satisfied  with  the  shirt  and  decided  to  take  it. 
The  clerk,  however,  wasn't  quite  satisfied.  He  decided 
to  use  suggestion.  He  brought  down  a  $2.50  shirt  and 
placed  it  by  the  side  of  the  $1.50  shirt.  The  customer 
talked  about  the  cheap  shirt,  the  clerk  talked  about 
the  higher  priced  one.  Result:  He  sold  the  man  two 
$2.50  shirts  and  the  man  liked  them  so  well  that  he 
came  back  the  next  morning  and  bought  another  at 
the  same  price.  That  is  suggestion  that  got  results 
and  gave  greater  satisfaction. 

The  Little  Negative  that  Queers  the  Sale. 

QHere  is  an  illustration  which  shows  the  nega- 
tive effect  of  suggestion.  A  farmer  came  to  town  to 
buy  a  self-binder.  He  looked  at  one  binder  and  was 
so  well  satisfied  that  he  was  about  to  buy  it.  At  this 
point  the  salesman,  thinking  he  would  make  a  hit  and 
close  the  sale  immediately,  said,  "I'll  tell  you,  this 
binder  has  given  us  very  little  trouble." 

C[Now  this  farmer  wasn't  looking  for  a  binder 
that  was  going  to  give  him  even  a  little  trouble.  He 
had  troubles  of  his  own.  That  one  suggestion  scared 
him  away.  He  went  out  and  bought  a  binder  from  a 
salesman  who  said,  "This  binder  has  given  us  excel- 
lent satisfaction." 

C[I  once  saw  the  advertisement  of  a  top-buggy  in 
a  mail  order  catalogue.  The  price  printed  under  the 
buggy  was  $39.00.  Alongside  the  buggy  in  big  letters 
was  this  statement :  ' '  Don 't  buy  a  cheap  buggy. ' '  The 


Suggestion  in  Salesmanship  187 

whole  ad  carried  the  idea  of  exceptional  value.  This 
ad  sold  a  lot  of  buggies.  It  gave  the  impression  of 
big  value  at  a  low  price. 

(£ Walter  Dill  Scott  says:  "Man  has  been  called 
the  reasoning  animal,  but  he  could,  with  greater  truth- 
fulness, be  called  the  creature  of  suggestion.  He  is 
reasonable,  but  he  is  to  a  greater  extent  suggestible." 

The  Reactive  Effect  of  Good  or  Bad 
Suggestion. 

C[The  character  of  the  salesman  is  affected  by 
the  use  of  good  or  bad  suggestion.  No  matter  whether 
the  suggestion  is  good  or  bad,  it  is  bound  to  react  upon 
the  character  of  the  one  who  made  it.  It  is  impossible 
for  one  to  suggest  life-giving,  invigorating,  positive 
moral  principles  without  being  helped  himself.  It  is 
impossible  for  one  to  think  and  talk  and  act  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  great  forces  of  life  without  being 
lifted  up  and  inspired  by  his  own  message. 

QJust  as  it  is  possible  to  influence  the  subjective 
mind  of  another  by  suggestion,  so  it  is  possible  to  in- 
fluence our  own  subjective  mind  by  auto-suggestion. 
All  we  have  to  do  is  to  determine  on  a  certain  course, 
make  up  our  mind  that  we  will  follow  it,  our  subjective 
mind  accepts  the  suggestion,  and  we  carry  out  our  de- 
termination. In  order  to  gain  results  which  are  worthy 
we  must  think  in  harmony  with  the  great  principles 
of  truth.  Truth  perpetuates  itself  by  virtue  of  its 
own  inherent  vitality.  Every  truth  is  itself  a  part 
of  an  organized  system  which  is  co-extensive  with  the 
Universe  of  God.  On  the  other  hand,  every  falsehood, 
every  error,  every  wrong  idea  is  a  prolific  source  of 
possible  evil,  "for  no  correct  conclusion  can  be  drawn 
from  a  false  premise." 


188          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 


Exercises 

Bring  to  class  a  list  of  positive  and  negative  expressions 
which  you  have  heard  used. 


LESSON  X. 

Will  $otoer 
Methods  of  Developing  the  Will. 

HENEVEE  you   are   inclined  not  to   do   a 
disagreeable   task   which   you   know   should 
be  done,  do  it  at  once  for  that  reason.  When- 
ever you  dislike  to  go  out  after  business, 
go   immediately  for  that  very  reason. 
QDo  instantly  any  disagreeable  task  which  should 
be  done,  because  you  know  it  is  to  your  advantage  to 
do  it.    Eefuse  at  once  to  do  any  agreeable  thing  simply 
because  it  is  agreeable,  if  it  is  injurious  to  yourself  or 
business. 

C£  Concentrate  and  use  daily  in  making  sales  every 
requisite  power  you  possess,  you  will  then  daily 
grow  into  a  logical,  scientific  and  successful  salesman. 
Make  a  habit  of  sitting  down  and  thinking  deliberately 
and  coolly  prior  to  every  important  interview.  Think 
the  thing  out  in  advance  and  then  when  you  under- 
take it,  do  your  level  best. 

C£In  the  meantime  burn  deeply  into  your  inner 
consciousness  this  resolution:  "I  will,  I  am  invincible; 
failure  is  an  impossibility  and  not  to  be  thought  of." 
C[  Decision  marks  the  strong  man  from  the  weak 
man.  "Indecision  is  the  paralysis  of  usefulness."  Get 
what  information  you  can  get,  or  need  to  get,  upon 
the  subject  and  then  decide,  once  for  all,  either  yes  or 

[189] 


190          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

no.  Entirely  too  large  a  per  cent,  of  the  average  man's 
life  is  wasted  through  continually  putting  off  the 
moment  of  decision.  Failure  to  decide  promptly,  and 
then  execute  immediately  the  thing  they  are  convinced 
ought  to  be  done,  robs  men  of  opportunity  and  time 
which  would  mean  fortune.  Vacillation  will  not  do, 
you  must  decide  one  way  or  the  other  after  the  evi- 
dence is  all  in.  Decision  is  the  mark  of  strong  men, 
men  of  courage.  In  making  a  decision,  add  up  every 
point  in  favor  of  the  proposition  and  every  point 
against  it,  just  as  you  would  two  rows  of  figures.  Put 
them  under  two  heads,  affirmative  and  negative,  just 
the  same  as  a  jury  does  in  an  important  case.  After 
you  have  the  reasons  all  down,  add  up  the  two  columns, 
and  if  the  affirmative  has  one  more  point  in  its  favor 
than  the  negative,  you  are  mathematically  compelled 
to  make  your  decision  accordingly.  This  is  the  method 
followed  by  Senator  Elihu  Root.  Don't  think  for  a 
minute  that  you  can  reconsider  it,  or  that  sentiment 
has  anything  to  do  with  it.  It  has  not,  except  with 
a  weakling,  and  you,  my  reader,  are  no  weakling,  or 
you  wouldn't  be  studying  this  lesson. 

C£  There  are  a  great  many  different  types  of  will 
which  are  worth  studying.  We  say  one  man 
is  slow  but  sure.  He  is  not  afraid  of  drudgery.  We 
might  call  his  the  slow  but  sure  will.  There  are  sever- 
al other  kinds  of  will  which  a  salesman  must  under- 
stand and  cultivate.  Considering  the  types  of  will  in 
salesmanship,  the  following  list  will  give  an  idea  of 
my  meaning. 

The  Will  Analyzed. 

QThe  slow  but  sure  will;  developed  by  constant 
study,  constant  work,  and  attention  to  details. 


Will  Power  191 


persistent  will;  developed  by  aggressive 
thought  and  the  habit  of  sticking  to  it — a  determina- 
tion to  hang  on  and  never  let  go. 

QThe  loyal-fidelity  will;  developed  by  thinking, 
by  devotion  to  another,  and  ceaseless  effort  to  help 
him. 

QThe  courageous  will;  developed  by  auto-sugges- 
tion of  courage,  confidence,  and  determined  effort  to 
succeed. 

QThe  alert  will;  developed  by  wide-awake  obser- 
vation of  details  and  people,  concentration  on  future 
work,  while  not  neglecting  present  work. 

QThe  tactful  will;  developed  by  the  thoughtful 
practice  of  adjusting  one's  self  to  others  for  their 
pleasure  and  one's  own  profit,  as  well  as  theirs. 

QThe  assent -compelling  will;  developed  by  con- 
tinually thinking  what  people  are  going  to  assent  to  in 
one's  proposition. 

QThe  intuitional  will;  developed  by  an  unabated 
desire  to  be  a  business  diplomat,  being  continually 
courteous,  alert,  desirous  of  adjusting  one's  self  to  cir- 
cumstances, and  always  on  the  alert  to  develop  in- 
tuitional ability. 

Eliminate  Your  Weaknesses. 

(T  Remember  that  the  thing  men  know  least  about 
is  their  individual  selves.  Certain  qualities  may  be 
developed  and  others  eliminated.  We  suggest  the  fol- 
lowing methods: 

C£l.  Correct  your  faults.  It  may  hurt  but  it 
will  pay. 

0[2.     Strengthen  your  weak  places. 


192          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

C£3.  Banish  fear,  worry,  blues,  jealously,  hatred, 
depression,  etc.  These  are  to  you  what  salt  is  to  iron. 
They  corrode  and  kill  both  you  and  your  business. 

C[4.  Cultivate  and  practice  the  habit  of  con- 
structive optimism.  Make  yourself  feel  cheerful,  cour- 
ageous and  happy. 

Q5.  Cultivate  the  habit  of  quick  deliberation  and 
prompt  decision.  (J.  P.  Morgan  makes  decisions 
amounting  to  millions  in  a  few  minutes.) 

C£6.  Cultivate  the  habit  of  persistence,  by  care- 
fully attending  to  details. 

G[  Finally,  make  such  a  study  of  yourself  and  so 
adjust  yourself  to  others  that  you  will  be  well  thought 
of.  Remember  that  "two-thirds  of  your  success  lies  in 
making  people  think  you  are  all  right." 


Suggestive  Written  Exercises 

Write  one  hundred  words  showing  how  you  de- 
veloped will  power  "by  doing  what  you  should  have 
done,  but  did  not  like  to  do. 

Write  a  two-page  letter  to  a  prospective  buyer  of 
a  sewing  machine,  who  has  written  a  letter  of  inquiry. 
Make  your  letter  sell  the  machine.  Develop  your  will 
power  by  going  to  the  sewing  machine  office  and  getting 
the  necessary  information. 


LESSON  XI. 


JSature 

The  Five  Senses. 

HAVE  never  been  told  by  any  student  that 
he  or  she  has  made  a  careful  analytical  study 
of  the  five  senses,  with  the  idea  of  increasing 
their  business  efficiency.  We  were  taught 
in  our  youth  that  the  five  senses  were  seeing, 
hearing,  smelling,  taste  and  touch. 

Educating  the  Eye. 

Q  Emerson  says  we  get  nine-tenths  of  our  educa- 
tion through  our  eyes.  That  being  the  case,  we  should 
devote  a  great  deal  of  painstaking  thought  and  atten- 
tion to  the  eye,  its  use,  and  the  best  methods  of  obser- 
vation. 

C[Some  people  have  a  large  development  of  the 
observation  qualities,  others  seem  to  have  little  apti- 
tude along  this  line.  This  latter  class  should  especial- 
ly concentrate  their  thoughts  upon  remedying  the  de- 
ficiency. But  this  idea  has  never  been  called  to  the 
attention  of  most  people. 

C[I  confess  I  cannot  remember  ever  having  re- 
ceived any  instruction  along  this  line  during  all  the 
years  I  spent  in  school.  In  fact  a  great  many  eyes 
are  weaker  when  they  finish  school  than  when  they 
enter. 

Qln  listening  to  a  sermon  or  a  lecture,  you  should 
watch  every  gesture,  every  movement  and  every  atti- 

[193] 


1'Ji  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

tude.  You  should  especially  note  this  in  trained  speak- 
ers. Learn  a  lesson  from  them.  Most  men  can  ap- 
preciate a  lesson  from  them.  Many  can  appreciate 
a  successful  effect  of  any  kind,  but  they  cannot  give 
the  reason  why,  as  they  cannot  analyze  it.  Observe 
closely  and  look  for  the  reason  why. 

C£When  you  are  selling  a  man  you  should  study 
his  face  with  a  hawk-like  intensity.  In  this  way  you 
will  profit  by  every  expression  of  interest.  Take  ad- 
vantage of  every  favorable  movement. 

Study  Faces  and  Remember  Them. 


observing  an  individual's  dress  and  general 
appearance  you  can  draw  a  pretty  accurate  conclusion 
as  to  his  habit  of  thought.  You  can  tell  his  tempera- 
ment and  quite  correctly  judge  his  inclinations.  Study 
faces  and  try  to  remember  them.  Take  a  personal  in- 
terest in  people.  Try  to  determine  how  old  people  are 
when  you  meet  them.  Try  to  determine  their  business 
or  position  in  life. 

QToo  many  people  go  through  life  without  see- 
ing any  more  than  they  have  to.  That  is  one  of  the 
main  reasons  they  don't  amount  to  more  then  they  do. 
When  an  individual  does  not  use  his  eyes  it  means 
that  he  does  not  use  his  brains.  A  young  man  came 
up  behind  me  one  day  in  a  strange  city  and  said: 
"Why  how  do  you  do,  Mr.  Knox?" 

C£I  had  only  seen  that  young  man  a  very  few 
times,  and  that  was  over  a  year  previous  to  this  meeting. 
I  asked  him  how  he  recognized  me  and  he  said  he  had  a 
good  eye  for  faces.  He  developed  his  qualities  of  ob- 
servation. 

QWhen  you  go  down  the  street  you  should  study 
the  windows  in  the  stores.  When  a  window  trimmer 


Human  Nature  195 


trims  a  window,  he  has  a  special  reason  for  so  doing. 
Figure  out  his  reason.  A  window  trimmer  desires  to 
so  trim  his  windows  that  the  goods  will  sell  themselves 
through  an  appeal  to  the  eye.  He  has  studied  other 
peoples'  eyes  as  well  as  his  own  or  he  would  not  know 
how  to  make  this  visual  appeal. 

C[Why  is  it  that  a  stock  buyer  is  such  a  good 
judge  of  the  weight  of  cattle  and  hogs?  It  is  because 
he  studies  animals  and  estimates  them  with  the  idea 
of  weight  in  mind.  You  notice  that  he  pays  attention. 
He  concentrates  his  mind  upon  his  subject  and  learns 
to  estimate.  "We  often  hear  the  remark  that  So-and-so 
has  very  keen,  alert  eyes.  He  has  made  them  so.  He 
has  learned  to  observe. 

Qlt  will  pay  you  to  study  advertisements  with 
the  same  idea  in  mind.  Look  at  a  new  automobile. 
See  how  it  has  been  made  to  appeal  to  the  eye.  Notice 
how  a  beautifully  gowned  woman  appeals  to  the  eye. 

QWhen  you  go  to  the  circus  you  will  see  about 
five  trapeze  performers  in  the  same  group.  You  will 
usually  notice  that  three  of  them  are  men  and  two 
are  women.  You  will  notice  that  the  men  do  all  the 
difficult  work  ;  that  the  women  are  very  fair  to  look 
upon,  but  that  the  performing  they  do  amounts  to  little. 
They  are  up  there  to  be  seen  and  to  fill  space  that  would 
otherwise  not  look  well.  In  the  eyes  of  the  onlooker 
they  unconsciously  accentuate  the  clever  acrobatic 
effects  of  the  other  performers. 

i 

Learn  to  Please  the  Ear  and  Eye. 


do  people  spend  years  in  studying  ora- 
tory? They  do  it  to  please  the  eye  and  the  ear.  Did 
you  ever  stop  to  think  of  that?  Beecher  practiced 


196          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

oratory  for  years.  Why?  In  order  to  please  people. 
Demosthenes  stuttered.  He  knew  that  stuttering  did 
not  please  people,  so  he  went  down  to  the  beach, 
placed  pebbles  in  his  mouth  and  practiced  until  he 
•overcame  his  difficulty.  He  did  it  to  please  people 
rather  than  to  displease  them.  We  must  please  peo- 
ple in  order  to  succeed  in  life.  It  pays.  How  we  look 
and  how  our  samples  look,  will  give  pleasure  or  dis- 
pleasure to  the  eye. 

Keep  Your  Samples  Clean. 

QThe  salesman  who  does  not  keep  his  samples 
looking  their  best  is  going  to  lose  business,  and  a 
lot  of  it.  A  self-respecting  man  will  not  buy  from 
a  sloppy  salesman  whose  samples  are  not  clean.  By 
all  means  see  that  your  appeal  to  the  eye  is  as  good 
as  it  can  be  made.  When  a  man  looks  at  you  he  sees 
a  picture  that  is  either  pleasing  or  displeasing.  If  that 
picture  has  unpolished  shoes,  a  dirty  collar,  and  finger 
nails  decorated  with  mourning,  do  you  think  it  is 
good  to  look  upon? 

C[I  recently  saw  a  man  eating  with  his  knife. 
That  one  act  told  my  eye  a  definite  story  about  that 
man. 

Offending  the  Eye. 

C[A  prominent  concern  wanted  a  first-class  city 
salesman.  They  received  a  lot  of  applications.  But 
one  man's  recommendations  stood  out  so  much  strong- 
er than  all  the  rest  that  they  sent  for  him.  He  was  an 
able  looking  young  man.  The  president  of  the  concern 
took  him  to  the  club  for  dinner.  He  tucked  his  nap- 
kin around  his  neck  when  he  ate.  He  finished  his 


Human  Nature  197 


dinner  sooner  than  his  prospective  employer.  As  soon 
as  he  had  finished  he  tilted  his  chair  back  and  began 
to  pick  his  teeth.  Then  he  took  out  his  knife  and 
cleaned  his  finger  nails. 

C[In  spite  of  his  fine  qualifications  as  a  salesman 
he  was  not  hired,  as  this  concern  expected  their 
salesmen  to  dine  with  many  of  their  prominent  cus- 
tomers, and  they  could  not  afford  to  be  humiliated  by 
such  a  representative.  They  hired  an  inferior  man, 
but  he  finally  became  a  member  of  the  firm.  If  the  first 
man  had  developed  his  qualities  of  observation  he  would 
have  learned  that  he  could  not  grossly  offend  the  eye 
and  not  lose  prestige.  His  one  weakness  cost  him  a 
great  opportunity. 

Do  Not  Antagonize  the  Ear. 

QA  voice  that  is  harsh  or  that  grates  will  not 
long  be  listened  to  even  by  a  good  prospective  cus- 
tomer. In  hiring  a  man,  many  concerns  consider  his 
personality  first  and  his  voice  second.  Many  concerns 
will  not  hire  a  man  unless  he  has  a  pleasant  voice.  The 
business  world  is  keyed  up  to  a  high  pitch.  It  will 
listen  to  a  musical  voice  but  never  to  a  harsh  one. 
Every  salesman  should  therefore  train  his  voice  if 
he  expects  maximum  pay. 

Offensive  Breath  Hurts  Business. 

C£You  may  not  think  the  sense  of  smell  has  much 
to  do  with  salesmanship,  but  it  has.  Many  people  will 
not  do  business  with  a  barber  whose  breath  smells  of 
cigarettes  or  chewing  tobacco.  The  same  is  true  with 
a  dentist.  Many  people  will  not  buy  from  a  salesman 
who  has  an  offensive  breath  of  any  kind. 


198          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

(JMany  men  have  such  a  breath  but  they  do  not 
realize  the  bad  effect  of  it.  A  prominent  doctor  was 
sick  almost  unto  death  with  pneumonia.  Leading  phy- 
sicians called  upon  him.  They  came  into  his  presence 
smoking,  and  it  nearly  stifled  him.  Up  to  this  sickness 
he  had  been  a  constant  user  of  tobacco;  but  he  vowed 
never  again  would  he  be  so  unconsciously  brutal  as  to 
.offend  a  sick  person  with  smoke. 

Taste  and  Touch  in  Business. 

C£The  matter  of  taste  has  very  little  to  do  with 
ordinary  salesmanship,  as  very  few  goods  are  sold  on 
the  basis  of  taste.  But  one  should  develop  the  sense 
of  touch.  Some  men  become  so  expert  through  the 
sense  of  touch  that  they  can  determine  any  and  every 
grade  of  goods  by  feeling  them.  You  can  usually 
determine  a  good  deal  about  a  man's  character  by 
shaking  hands  with  him.  The  characterless  man  has 
a  weak  handshake. 

C£In  the  future,  the  man  who  guesses  as  to  the 
use  of  the  five  senses  will  be  left  far  behind  the  man 
who  knows.  Use  your  senses.  They  were  given  to 
you  for  that  purpose. 

Human  Nature  Instincts. 

QThe  following  list  of  human  instincts  and  their 
action  is  taken  from  a  prominent  work  on  psychology 
by  Prof.  James  R.  Angell,  head  of  the  Department  of 
Psychology,  of  Chicago  University.  These  instincts  are : 
"Fear,  anger,  shyness,  curiosity,  affection,  sexual  love, 
jealousy  and  envy,  rivalry,  sociability,  sympathy,  mod- 
esty, play,  imitation,  constructiveness,  secretiveness,  and 
acquisitiveness." 


Human  Nature  199 


C£"  Curiosity  is  simply  another  name  for  inter- 
est. Curiosity  is  the  racial  instinct  to  which  our  sedate 
citizen  is  yielding. 

G£"Many  persons  feel  an  ineradicable  impulse  to 
conceal  their  plans,  their  actions  and  their  character 
behind  a  screen  of  non-committal  silence  and  reserve. 
But  this  is  temperamental  and  may  be  felt  in  the  ab- 
sence of  all  explicit  justification.  Acquisitiveness  is 
selfishness;  the  impulse  to  get  and  hold. 

0["  Rivalry  is  closely  allied  with  emulation,  and 
runs  to  excess  in  anger,  hate,  jealousy  and  envy.  Its 
stimulus  is  found  in  the  successful  achievement  of  any 
one  coming  within  our  own  social  circle,  by  virtue  of 
which  we  are  likely  to  be  relegated  to  inferior  po- 
sitions. 

C£"Envy  is  generally  applied  to  our  covetousness 
of  the  prosperity  or  possessions  of  others.  This  covetous- 
ness  is  often  accompanied  as  in  jealousy,  by  more  or  less 
malignity.  Jealousy  we  commonly  apply  to  a  similar 
feeling  toward  persons  who  are  our  supposed  rivals, 
whether  actually  successful  or  simply  feared.  Its  char- 
acteristic expressions  are  similar  to  those  of  anger  and 
hatred,  but  commonly  occur  in  milder  form. 

(£"  Adult  constructiveness  is  exercised  under  the 
stress  of  fear,  pride,  or  similar  emotions. 

(£"  Impulse  as  a  mental  affair  may  be  defined 
broadly  as  the  consciousness  of  tendency  to  movement. 
The  disposition  to  movement  is  instigated  by  some  stim- 
ulus." We  know  that  thought  plus  feeling  equals 
action. 

(£"The  first  time  one  of  the  strong  racial  im- 
pulses is  felt,  the  individual's  consciousness  contains 
little  or  no  anticipation  of  what  is  about  to  occur.  He 
is  simply  aware  of  an  unusual  thrill,  a  passing  interest, 


200          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

which  comes  to  him  disclosed  in  part  by  muscular  move- 
ments, —  half  mechanical  in  their  nature. 

Q"  Instinct  and  emotion  are  both  psycho-physical 
processes.  The  instinct  refers  primarily  to  physical 
phenomena,  and  the  term  emotion  to  psychological." 

Leadership  Based  upon  Knowledge  of  Human 
Nature. 


o  matter  how  brainy  a  man  may  be,  no  matter 
how  well  educated  he  may  be,  he  will  be  a  failure  as 
a  leader  of  men  unless  he  thoroughly  understands  these 
human  instincts  and  how  to  so  manipulate  them  as  to 
induce  action  in  his  behalf. 

C[For  a  more  complete  study  of  Human  Nature 
see  volume  two  of  the  Science  of  Applied  Salesman- 
ship, published  by  the  Knox  School. 


Suggestive  Written  Exercises 

When  you  see  a  horse  do  you  ever  stop  to  think 
what  breed  it  is  or  how  much  it  might  weigh? 

When  you  pass  a  corn  field  in  the  summer  do  you 
estimate  its  yield  f 

When  you  read  an  advertisement  do  you  wonder 
why  it  was  so  written? 

When  you  look  into  a  man's  face  can  you  tell  why 
he  is  or  is  not  a  leader  of  men? 

With  these  questions  in  mind  ask  your  friends  a 
lot  of  questions  to  determine  whether  or  not  they  are 
good  observers,  then  write  an  essay  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  words  on  the  value  of  developing  the  quali- 
ties of  observation. 


LESSON  XII. 


,  abbertistng  anb  (Dratorp 

HE  great  trinity  of  rhetoric  is  clearness. 
force  and  elegance.  They  are  stated  in  the 
order  of  their  importance.  Clearness  ap- 
peals to  the  intellect.  Force  appeals  to 
the  emotions.  Elegance  appeals  to  the 

taste,  it  appeals  to  the  aesthetic. 

C£  Therefore,  if  an  argument  is  clear,  it  appeals 

to  the  intellect,  if  it  is  forceful  it  appeals  to  the  emo- 

tions, and  if  it  is  elegant,  it  may  neither  appeal  vigor- 

ously to  the  intellect  nor  to  the  emotions. 

Difference  Between  Force  and  Elegance. 

C£  Billy  Sunday  is  clear,  forceful  and  inelegant. 
but  marvelously  effective.  Of  course  he  is  out  of  the 
ordinary  —  unusual,  but  it  takes  the  unusual  to  be  most 
effective.  That  is  due  to  the  fact  that  folks  are  lazy. 
They  must  be  shocked  into  action. 

QThe  polished  orator,  William  M.  Evarts,  was 
clear,  fairly  forceful,  and  elegant.  But  he  was  so 
elegant  that  his  very  elegance  robbed  his  speech  of 
its  force  and  killed  its  effect  upon  the  emotions,  leav- 
ing it  nothing  but  a  dead  rhetorical  master-piece,  de- 
void of  the  power  to  stir  the  human  soul. 

Failure  Due  to  Lack  of  Force. 

QMost  advertising,  most  salesmanship  and  most 
oratory  that  fails  to  bring  results,  fails  because  it  lacks 

[201] 


202          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

force.  Tflour  writer  or  speaker  may  tell  a  clear  story. 
It  may  be  elegantly  written  or  delivered,  but  if  it  lacks 
force  you  may  as  well  bid  a  fond  farewell  to  the  hope 
of  results.  To  get  results  it  must  stir  people  and  to 
do  that  it  must  be  forceful. 

Unusual  Ideas  Move  People. 

QChas.  W.  Mears,  the  famous  advertising  man, 
says,  "The  public  is  both  inherently  selfish  and  in- 
herently lazy.  Too  selfish  to  be  interested  in  the  mere- 
ly ordinary  or  casual.  Too  lazy  to  take  other  than 
routine  action  unless  the  unusual  action  is  forcefully 
urged.  And  in  order  to  stir  this  selfish,  lazy  public 
into  the  buying  mood,  and  into  action,  copy  must  of 
necessity  shock  or  challenge  the  emotions." 

The  Emotions  Must  Be  Challenged. 

QGenung,  an  authority  on  writing,  says:  "Force 
must  shock  or  challenge  the  emotions."  He  also  says: 
"Genuine  force  in  style  cannot  be  manufactured;  if 
the  style  has  not  serious  conviction  back  of  it,  it  be- 
comes contorted;  if  it  has  not  a  vivifying  emotion,  it 
becomes  turgid.  Force  is  the  quality  of  style  most  de- 
pendent upon  character. 

C£"The  writer's  culture  for  force,  therefore,  is 
in  its  deepest  analysis  a  culture  of  character.  To 
think  closely  and  seriously,  to  insist  upon  seeking  fact 
or  truth  for  one's  self  and  not  merely  echo  it  as  hear- 
say;  to  cherish  true  convictions,  not  mere  fashions  or 
expedients  of  thinking — these  are  the  traits  in  the  cul- 
ture of  character  that  make  for  forcible  and  virile  ex- 
pression. ' ' 


Salesmanship,  Advertising  and  Oratory        203 

The  Unity  of  Public,  Personal,  and  Written 
Speech. 

C£ Arthur  B.  Freeman  says:  "Salesmanship  is  a 
form  of  advertising  and  public  speaking ;  advertising  is  a 
form  of  salesmanship  and  public  address;  and  public 
speaking  is  salesmanship  as  well  as  advertising.  Each 
has  its  place  in  the  business  world.  Each  needs  the 
other  and  it  is  only  when  two  or  more  of  these  forces 
are  working  in  conjunction  that  the  most  good  may 
be  expected." 

Analysis  of  Speech. 

QA  speech  can  be  analyzed  under  the  following 
heads:  Impressiveness,  clearness,  force,  belief,  action, 
elegance  and  entertainment. 

C£The  object  of  most  salesmen  is  simply  to  get 
the  order — in  other  words,  to  get  action.  But  the 
salesman  who  doesn't  do  more  than  simply  get  the 
order  isn  't  the  highest  type  of  salesman. 

QThe  man  who  makes  the  right  kind  of  an  im- 
pression as  to  the  character  of  his  house,  who  makes 
clear  what  the  house  stands  for  and  is  doing,  who 
establishes  belief  in  the  house's  reliability,  and  who  is 
able  to  entertain  the  buyer  and  get  him  into  the  right 
mental  attitude,  is  a  hundred  times  more  a  salesman 
than  the  mere  order  taker  or  order  filler. 

QProf.  Phillips  says,  "The  carefully  prepared 
half-hour  effort  of  many  a  preacher  has  been  wasted, 
because  the  burden  of  his  talk  was  believe,  when  what 
he  really  desired  was  action.  Already  they  believed, 
but  they  did  not  do;  and  every  phrase,  sentence,  para- 
graph— every  argument  should  have  been  selected  with 
special  regard  to  its  power  to  influence  the  will." 


204          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

C[The  salesman  very  often  talks  his  prospect  in- 
to buying  and  then  out  again  by  trying  to  get  him.  to 
believe  in  the  article,  when  the  man  already  under- 
stands it,  and  already  believes  in  it,  and  is  waiting  to 
be  told  to  act. 

C£The  salesman  and  public  speaker  must  make 
what  he  says  come  vividly  into  the  life  and  exper- 
iences of  the  listener.  The  more  vividly  and  closely 
the  ideas  touch  the  life,  beliefs  and  experiences  of  the 
listener,  the  more  effective  they  will  be  and  the  more 
likely  will  he  be  to  gain  his  end.  The  more  he  theorizes 
and  generalizes  the  less  effective  he  will  be. 

Qln  order  that  you  may  be  clear  and  reach  the 
point  of  contact  in  the  mind  of  your  listener,  show 
him  how  the  unknown  is  like  the  known. 

Qln  order  that  you  may  be  impressive,  compare 
the  new  feeling  or  emotion  to  the  feeling  or  emotion 
he  is  already  familiar  with. 

QTo  induce  belief  compare  the  new  idea  with  the 
one  he  is  already  familar  with.  Do  the  best  you  can 
to  get  out  of  the  listener 's  experience  the  thing  that  has 
impressed  him  most.  Make  your  comparative  plea  upon 
the  strength  of  that  emotion. 

C£  Oratory  is  the  ability  to  influence  and  control 
thought  and  action.  But  no  man  will  become  highly 
efficient  as  a  speaker  who  does  not  know  the  human 
emotions  and  the  best  methods  of  influencing  them; 
who  does  not  become  a  highly  efficient  mental  manipu- 
lator. 


Salesmanship,  Advertising  and  Oratory        205 


Suggestive  Written  Exercises 

John  Brown  has  written  a  letter  asking  about  the 
book  entitled  Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency. 
Write  him  a  letter  giving  him  ten  reasons  why  he  should 
buy  the  book. 

Write  an  essay  of  three  hundred  words  giving  your 
reasons  why  it  is  to  the  advantage  of  a  business  man 
to  be  able  to  make  a  good,  clear,  effective  speech. 

Before  you  write  above  essay  ask  advice  of  business 
men,  lawyers,  preachers,  etc.  Get  into  the  habit  of 
seeking  information. 


LESSON  XIII 


a  Detail 

HE  following  analytical  outline  will  prove 
very  helpful,  especially  to  inside  salesmen. 
This  outline  is  based  upon,  and  the  illus- 
trations drawn  from  a  general  clothing  and 
furnishing  store,  but  the  same  principles  of 
analysis  apply  to  any  line  of  goods. 

C£I.  The  purpose  of  a  retail  store  should  be  to 
sell  goods  to  the  customer  to  his  satisfaction  and  to 
their  mutual  profit. 

C[II.  The  special  aim  of  a  clothing  store  is  to 
give  good  service,  dress  the  customer  in  the  best  style, 
and  give  expert  advice  as  to  style,  value,  appropriate- 
ness, etc. 

C£III.  The  principle  which  must  animate  every 
Salesperson  in  order  to  carry  out  this  aim  is  a  real 
desire  to  take  a  personal  interest  in  the  customer  and 
give  him  the  best  service,  together  with  kind  and 
courteous  treatment. 

QIV.  The  salesperson  is  the  trained  representa- 
tive of  the  store.  His  purpose  is  to  assist  the  customer 
in  choosing  the  goods  that  have  been  collected  from 
different  sources  at  different  times  and  at  variable  costs 
and  arranged  for  distribution  to  the  customer  at  rea- 
sonable prices. 

QV.  Therefore,  the  relation  of  the  salesperson 
to  the  customer  should  be  that  of  an  expert  adviser, 

[206] 


Analyzing  a  Retail  Business  207 

in  the  same  way  that  a  physician  is  an  expert  adviser 
to  his  patient,  and  a  lawyer  an  expert  adviser  to  his 
client. 

Ql.  In  order  to  sustain  this  relation  the  sales- 
person must  develop  a  pleasing  personality  that  will 
not  only  gain  the  customer's  confidence  and  hold  it  to 
the  end  of  the  transaction,  but  such  a  personality  as 
will  induce  the  customer  to  return  again. 

C£ Principle:  No  customer  shall  be  permitted  to 
leave  the  store  without  receiving  expert  attention  to 
his  needs. 

C£2.  Calling  the  buyer.  The  buyer  or  assistant 
buyer  should  be  called,  before  permitting  a  customer 
to  leave  with  his  wants  unsatisfied,  in  order  to  find  out 
why  his  wants  are  not  being  satisfied  and  to  make  an 
immediate  sale  if  it  can  be  done  to  his  entire  satis- 
faction. A  sale  should  not  be  made  to  a  customer  if 
the  salesman  knows  it  will  disappoint  rather  than  sat- 
isfy the  purchaser. 

Q Principle:  The  reasons  that  induce  the  buyer 
to  invest  in  the  goods  are  the  very  reasons  that  will 
convince  the  customer  to  purchase  them,  providing  the 
counter  salesperson  is  as  good  a  salesman  as  the  travel- 
ing salesman. 

C[3.  The  salesperson  shall  understand  the  cus- 
tomer through  a  correct  knowledge  of  human  nature; 
through  developing  intuition ;  through  a  study  of  types 
and  classes. 

Q4.  A  salesman  must  have  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  goods  (see  analysis,  Lesson  II)  in  order 
to  be  an  expert  adviser. 

Reasons : 

C[a.     To  have  faith  in  his  goods. 

C[b.     To  have  confidence  in  himself. 


208          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

Qc.     To  assure  his  customer. 

Qd.     To  arouse  enthusiasm. 

Qe.  To  show  the  customer  the  special  features 
that  give  the  article  its  style,  durability  and  value. 

Q[f.  To  be  prepared  to  answer  any  questions 
which  the  customer  may  ask.  , 

C[g.  To  assist  the  buyer  in  his  plans  to  satisfy 
future  needs. 

QWhat  to  know. 

Qa.  Fit:  An  article  must  fit.  This  is  a  first  es- 
sential. A  salesperson  should  look  farther  ahead  than 
the  profit  on  that  particular  article  or  sale.  He  should 
aim  to  satisfy  future  needs  as  well  as  present.  For 
this  reason  an  article  should  not  be  sold  to  a  customer 
unless  it  fits.  Fit  includes  every  portion  and  detail 
of  a  garment,  as  well  as  its  general  adaptability  to 
a  customer. 

Qb.  Style :  Style  is  sometimes  to  be  desired  above 
quality,  as  upon  that  depends  the  effect.  It  should 
bring  out  the  strong  points  of  the  wearer  and  aid  in 
covering  up  the  weak  ones. 

Q  Study  all  the  goods  in  stock  in  order  to  learn  the 
difference.  Then  systematize  these  goods  in  your  mind. 
Plan  ahead  and  determine  what  types  of  customers 
can  best  wear  each.  Then  find  out  by  experience  what 
your  results  are. 

C[  Study  different  kinds  of  wearing  apparel.  If  a 
woman  buys  a  waist  be  able  to  suggest  to  her  what 
kind  of  neckwear  would  be  appropriate  and  bring  out 
the  beauty  of  the  waist.  Thus  you  can  sell  more 
goods  through  power  of  sugggestion. 

Qc.  Finish:  If  there  is  anything  about  the  finish 
of  the  article  that  enhances  its  value  or  adds  to  the  style, 
call  attention  to  it.  Note  the  quality,  gloss,  special  stitch- 


Analyzing  a  Retail  Business,  209 

es,  or  anything  that  adds  to  the  quality — special  finish, 
etc.  (If  the  article  is  imperfect  call  the  buyer's  at- 
tention to  it  that  it  may  be  improved  upon,  or  re- 
turned if  necessary.)  If  sold  cheap  for  this  reason, 
give  the  reason.  These  things  give  the  customer  con- 
fidence. 

Qd.  Quality:  If  you  can't  find  out  from  your 
employer  what  the  goods  are  made  of  and  something 
about  the  textile  value  of  such  goods,  send  to  the  fac- 
tory for  information. 

Qe.  Color  and  color  combination:  Should  be 
studied  with  reference  to  harmony,  age,  size,  eyes,  hair, 
and  complexion. 

C£f.  Fabric:  Learn  name,  manufacturing  process, 
and  composition. 

C[VI.     Special  points  to  be  studied. 

C[l.  Commercial  geography  for  the  purpose  of 
learning  source  and  transportation  of  products  either 
raw  or  in  their  different  stages.  , 

C[2.  Habitation  of  plants  and  animals  from  which 
raw  products  are  obtained. 

Qa.  Study  producer  and  production  to  learn  how 
products  are  obtained. 

C£b.  Study  facts  about  manufacturing  to  learn 
how  goods  are  prepared  for  use. 

C£3.  Commercial  conditions  and  causes  which  en- 
ter into  the  making  of  prices. 

C[4.     The  general  principles  of  commercial  law. 

C£5.  Store  construction:  (a)  How  to  build,  ven- 
tilate, light,  decorate  and  make  convenient;  (b)  sys- 
tem, cost,  credits,  collections,  buying,  and  selling — 
study  different  stores:  (c)  management,  how  to  hire, 
train,  and  manage  employees. 


210          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

Illustrative  Principles. 

QThe  principles  or  maxims  that  have  enabled 
others  to  accumulate  an  immense  fortune  or  build  up 
a  great  business  are  worthy  of  consideration.  We 
may  close  this  lesson  on  the  Principles  of  Retailing 
in  no  better  way  than  by  succinctly  stating  the  prin- 
ciples that  guided  Baron  Rothschild  to  success  in 
Europe  and  the  Butler  Brothers  in  America.  The 
maxims  of  Baron  Rothschild  were: 

' '  Carefully  examine  every  detail  of  your  business. ' ' 

"Be  prompt  in  everything." 

"Take  time  to  consider,  then  decide  quickly." 

"Dare  to  go  forward." 

"Bear  troubles  patiently." 

"Be  brave  in  the  struggle  of  life." 

"Maintain  your  integrity  as  a  sacred  thing." 

"Never  tell  business  lies." 

"Make  no  useless  acquaintances." 

"Never  try  to  appear  something  more  than  you 
are." 

"Pay  your  debts  promptly." 

"Shun  strong  liquors." 

"Employ  your  time  well." 

"Do  not  reckon  upon  chance." 

"Be  polite  to  everybody. 

"Never  be  discouraged." 

"Then  work  hard  and  you  will  be  certain  to  suc- 
ceed." 

QThe  principles  laid  down  as  "The  Butler  Way" 
are: 

"Handle  many  lines." 

"Make  every  dollar  of  your  capital  turn  as  fre- 
quently as  possible." 

"Seek  the  trade  of  all  classes  of  buyers." 


Analyzing  a  Retail  Business  211' 

"Buy  in  small  lots  and  often." 

"Buy,  through  man  or  catalogue,  by  value  and 
not  by  favor." 

"Discount  your  bills." 

"Give  good  values  in  worthy  goods." 

"Offer  bargains  and  make  them,  always,  actual 
bargains. ' ' 

' '  Cheerfully  exchange  goods,  or  refund  money  paid' 
whenever  a  customer  is  dissatisfied  with  a  purchase.'^ 

"Get  rid  of  stickers  by  cutting  their  prices  until 
they  do  sell." 

"Maintain  your  stock  in  a  clean  and  orderly  con- 
dition." 

"Treat  your  clerks  in  a  way  to  insure  their  in- 
terest in  your  welfare." 

"Create  and  jealously  guard  a  reputation  for  ab- 
solute squareness  in  all  your  dealings." 

"Advertise  by  printer's  ink,  special  sales,  show- 
windows,  and  every  other  legitimate  means." 

"Recognize  no  dull  season  as  a  necessity,  but  push- 
for  trade  all  the  time." 


Suggestive  Exercise 

Visit  various  stores,  make  purchases,  or  look  at 
goods,  then  write  article  showing  weakness  of  retail 
salesmen. 


LESSON  XIV. 

Jlattonal  Casi)  Eegigter  Celling 

A  National  Gash  Register  Approach. 

j ERE  is  an  approach  I  have  used  with  suc- 
cess in  selling  National  Cash  Registers: 
"Mr.  Blank,  my  name  is  Knox.  I  repre- 
sent the  National  Cash  Register  Company, 
(wait  a  couple  of  seconds)  and  I  want  to 
show  you  how  a  modern  National  Cash  Register  will 
increase  your  profits,  stop  losses  in  your  store,  and 
increase  your  business." 

C£In  that  short  opening  statement,  I  appeal  to  his 
pocket  book  and  his  curiosity.  Both  are  quite  neces- 
sary. He  is  interested  in  knowing  how  any  machine 
will  increase  his  profits.  Furthermore,  he  knows  he 
has  some  losses  in  his  store.  He  would  like  well  enough 
to  see  them  stopped.  So  far  so  good.  The  two  ap- 
peals are  addressed  to  his  self-interest  and  he  under- 
stands them.  But  when  I  tell  him  I  want  to  show 
him  how  to  increase  his  business,  he  is  immediately 
curious  and  will  most  likely  say,  "Well,  I  can  see 
where  you  might  increase  my  profits  and  stop  losses 
in  my  store,  but  what  I  can't  see  is  how  you  can  in- 
crease my  sales."  This  is  just  what  I  want  him  to 
say.  If  I  can  get  a  man  so  interested  as  a  result  of 
my  first  statement  that  he  is  asking  me  for  informa- 
tion, it  is  proof  that  I  have  so  aroused  certain  emo- 

1212] 


National  Cash  Register  Selling  Methods        213 

tions  in  his  brain,  that  I  have  in  reality  created  a 
mental  sensation  favorable  to  my  proposition. 

QWhen  a  merchant  asked  me  how  the  thing  could 
be  done,  I  would  immediately  tell  him  that  I  could 
not  very  well  explain  it  to  him  without  showing  him 
the  Register,  and  inasmuch  as  I  had  the  Register  set 
up  in  the  sample  room,  I  would  ask  him  to  come  over 
with  me  then,  or  come  just  as  soon  as  he  could.  In 
case  he  did  not  go  with  me,  then  I  would  make  a 
definite  appointment  with  him,  and  call  at  his  store 
at  that  particular  hour  so  as  to  remind  him  in  case 
he  had  forgotten.  You  can't  depend  upon  people  to 
keep  their  appointments.  You  must  keep  after  them. 
They  forget. 

C£I  am  going  to  give  you  two  or  three  practical 
illustrations  at  this  point,  where  I  made  sales  as  a 
result  of  an  approach  that  made  the  proper  appeal,, 
and  let  me  say  also  that  if  your  approach  is  not  a 
good  one,  the  chance  of  making  a  sale  is  lost  for  the- 
time  being,  at  least,  providing  you  are  turned  down. 
In  making  the  sale  there  are  seven  distinct  steps,  as 
you  have  already  learned.  You  must  make  the  ap- 
proach, get  the  attention,  arouse  interest,  produce  con- 
viction, produce  resolve,  create  desire,  and  force  de- 
cision, which  is  closing  the  order. 

QYour  selling  and  closing  arguments  may  be 
brilliant.  It  may  be  impossible  for  a  prospective  pur- 
chaser to  get  around  them.  But  of  what  value  are 
they  to  you  if  you  are  turned  down  before  you  get  a 
hearing,  a  chance  to  use  them?  My  definition  for 
approach,  therefore,  is  this:  The  ability  to  create 
an  immediate  favorable  sensation  in  your  Prospective. 
Purchaser's  mind. 

C£I  had  apparently  made  a  successful  approach 
to  a  merchant  in  New  York  City,  and  made  an  appoint- 


214          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

ment  with  him  to  meet  me  at  the  National  Cash  Register 
office  at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  28th  street,  at 
-3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Inasmuch  as  I  did  not 
want  to  take  chances  on  his  not  coming,  I  called  at 
his  store  just  before  three.  He  was  out,  but  came  in 
shortly.  "When  he  saw  me  he  frowned  and  said  he 
hadn't  time  to  go  with  me,  as  he  was  very  busy,  and 
had  decided  he  didn't  want  a  Register  anyway. 

C£I  came  back  at  him  this  way:  "Mr.  Jones,  I 
made  an  appointment  with  you  at  3  p.  m.  at  the  Na- 
tional Cash  Register  office.  But  that  was  not  all.  I 
arranged  with  our  greatest  systems  expert,  a  man  whom 
I  believe  is  one  of  the  greatest  systems  experts  in  the 
world,  to  give  you  half  an  hour  of  his  time,  in  order 
to  study  your  system  and  help  you  in  any  way  he  can. 
Now,  then,  if  you  do  not  keep  your  appointment,  and 
our  Mr.  Blank  loses  his  valuable  time  that  he  has 
.kindly  reserved  for  you,  just  see  where  it  will  place 
me.  In  fact,  he  will  be  likely  to  lose  confidence  in 
me.  For  my  sake,  under  the  circumstances,  as  well 
as  your  own,  I  want  you  to  come.  The  elevated  will 
be  at  the  corner  in  half  a  minute,  and  if  we  hurry  we 
can  catch  it."  I  said,  "Come  on,"  and  reached  toward 
him  as  if  to  catch  him  by  the  arm,  and  started  for 
•the  door.  The  suggestion  was  potent.  When  we  got 
outside  I  wanted  to  keep  his  mind  busy,  and  I  was  anx- 
ious to  catch  the  first  car,  so  I  said,  "Let  us  run." 
We  ran,  caught  the  car  and  before  we  got  to  the  demon- 
•strating  room  I  had  sold  him  a  $500  Register,  from 
my  catalogue.  I  showed  him  the  Register  in  the  office. 
He  signed  the  contract  and  gave  me  his  check  and  I 
turned  him  over  to  our  systems  expert.  You  see  I 
•did  not  antagonize  him.  I  did  the  reverse.  My  state- 
ment was  such  that  it  shamed  him  just  a  bit. 


National  Cash  Register  Selling  Methods 


QHere  is  another:  I  stepped  into  a  store,  intro- 
duced myself  to  the  proprietor,  a  fine  old  gentleman 
of  about  sixty  or  sixty-five.  He  smiled  when  I  told 
him  my  business  and  said:  ''You  are  just  wasting 
your  time  on  me.  Every  National  Cash  Register  man 
in  this  territory  has  tried  his  best  to  sell  me  for  twenty 
years,  but  they  have  all  failed.  I  know  it  is  a  good 
thing  and  I  may  take  a  notion  to  buy  one  some  time, 
but  I  am  not  interested  now."  It  was  Christmas  week, 
and  I  came  back  at  him  like  this:  "For  twenty  long 
years  you  have  been  thinking  about  buying  a  National 
Cash  Register,  but  you  have  not  done  what  you  know 
in  your  heart  you  should  have  done.  You  have  paid 
the  price  of  a  Register,  in  losses,  and  no  doubt  a  good 
deal  more,  too,  every  year  during  those  twenty  years, 
and  still  you  did  not  get  what  you  paid  for.  "When 
I  pay  for  a  thing  I  need,  I  propose  to  get  it.  This 
is  the  last  week  in  the  year.  You  are  going  to  pay  for 
another  nice  new  Cash  Register  next  year,  whether 
you  get  it  or  not.  If  I  were  in  your  place,  I  wouldn't 
be  buncoed  out  of  getting  it  any  longer.  I  woulrf 
get  it  and  start  the  New  Year  right." 

C£I  arranged  with  him  to  bring  my  sample  into 
his  store.  I  demonstrated  it.  He  signed  the  order 
and  kept  it.  The  price  was  $300.00.  Another  case 
when  a  short,  simple,  but  effective  approach  landed  a 
good  commission. 

QHere  is  another  one.  A  little  town  in  Iowa 
decided  to  have  another  store.  It  was  only  blessed 
with  one.  I  heard  about  it  and  went  out. 

C£A  Fire  Insurance  agent  and  I  reached  the  store 
at  the  same  time.  He  said  he  was  in  a  hurry  for 
he  wanted  to  go  out  on  the  next  train,  which  was  due 
in  an  hour.  I  told  him  to  go  ahead.  He  insured  the 
store  and  left.  I  approached  the  farmer  who  was  start- 


216          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

ing  the  store  and  he  said:  "No,  the  Register  costs  too 
much  and  I  can't  afford  it."  I  said,  "You  have  just 
insured  your  store  for  forty-six  dollars  and  twenty-five 
cents  a  year.  In  ten  years  that  will  amount  to  over 
$460  and  what  chance  do  you  think  you  have  of  burn- 
ing out?"  He  said  he  did  not  know.  "Well,"  I  said, 
"according  to  Fire  Insurance  statistics  you  have  just 
one  chance  in  sixteen  hundred  of  being  burned  out. 
Think  of  it!  Only  one  chance  in  1,600!  And  yet 
you  are  not  willing  to  take  that  chance,  and  I  think 
you  are  wise  not  to.  But  look  here.  You  cannot  expect 
to  run  a  store  without  losing  at  least  a  quarter  a  day 
as  a  result  of  mistakes  in  change,  and  twenty-five  cents 
a  day  more  for  forgotten  charges,  can  you?"  "No." 
"That  is  an  absolute  loss.  You  believe  the  Register 
will  stop  these  losses  and  absolutely  pay  for  itself  in 
a  short  time.  If  you  lose  half  a  dollar  a  day,  and 
there  are  312  working  days  in  a  year,  you  lose  $156.00 
a  year.  In  ten  years  your  absolute  loss  is  $1,560  at 
least,  and  yet  what  do  I  ask  for  my  Register,  which  is 
an  Insurance  Policy  against  this  loss  of  money?  I 
do  not  ask  $460  for  ten  years  with  only  one-sixteenth 
of  one  per  cent,  chance  of  loss.  All  I  ask  is  $425.  At 
the  end  of  ten  years  it  will  not  only  have  saved  you 
many  times  its  cost,  but  it  will  then  be  worth  half  of 
what  you  paid  for  it,  at  least,  or  $212.50.  Now  then, 
I  put  it  up  to  you  as  a  gpod  business  man,  can  you 
afford  to  pay  $460  Fire  Insurance  for  ten  years  and 
get  nothing  for  it,  and  not  pay  $425  for  a  system  that 
your  own  good  judgment  tells  you  will  pay  for  itself 
many  times  and  insure  your  money  against  loss,  not 
only  for  ten  years,  but  for  forty  years?  As  a  level- 
headed business  man,  you  can't,  under  the  circum- 
stances, afford  to  turn  my  proposition  down,  can  you  ? ' ' 


National  Cash  Register  Selling  Methods        217 

He  said,  "No,  I  can't.     I'll  take  the  Register,"  and 
he  smiled  when  he  said  it. 

CJNow,  then,  what  got  me  this  order  so  easily? 
Simply  my  knowing  the  statistics  in  regard  to  Fire 
Insurance  and  applying  that  knowledge  at  the  oppor- 
tune time.  You  may  ask  why  I  should  spend  time  get- 
ting such  information.  I  say  just  for  such  an  emergency 
as  this.  A  man,  to  be  largely  successful  to-day,  must 
"know  everything  of  something  and  something  of  every- 
thing." 

Q  Every  man  with  any  intelligence  at  all  who 
studies  this  approach,  can  figure  out  an  approach  ap- 
plicable to  his  own  particular  line  of  business.  This 
approach  furnishes  the  model.  It  is  no  theory.  It 
has  been  used  with  great  success  by  the  greatest  sell- 
ing organization  in  the  world. 

Selling  Methods. 

QjThe  following  are  the  selling  methods,  selling 
arguments,  selling  points  and  closing  arguments  that 
have  made  the  National  Cash  Register  Company  the 
greatest  and  most  successful  selling  organization  in 
the  world,  the  envy  of  competitors  and  the  marvel  of 
the  rest  of  the  selling  world : 

C| "  Self -Respect . — This  element  should  stiffen  the 
backbone  of  every  salesman.  Never  forget  that  your 
business  puts  you  on  a  level  with  any  merchant  and  that 
you  are  (or  should  be)  doing  good  to  everybody  you  sell. 
You  are  asking  no  favors,  you  have  nothing  to  apologize 
for,  and  everything  to  be  proud  of.  Servility  will 
lose  more  sales  than  impudence,  and  is  quite  as  de- 
testable. Treat  your  prospective  purchaser  with  the 
courtesy  due  an  equal. 


218          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

(^"Knowledge. — This  is  the  first  step  in  salesman- 
ship. You  can  never  reach  any  of  the  others  till  your 
feet  are  first  firmly  planted  on  knowledge.  The  first 
rule  for  selling  National  Cash  Registers  is,  know  your 
Register.  The  second  is,  know  your  store.  Learn  ab- 
solutely everything  to  be  known  about  the  Register. 
Never  stop  studying  it.  Never  be  afraid  you  will  learn 
too  much.  Never  stop  looking  into  its  possibilities. 

C["Know  all  that  is  possible  to  learn  about  the 
store  when  you  want  to  sell  a  Register,  before  you 
approach  the  prospective  purchaser.  Then  learn  all 
that  he  will  tell  you  before  you  proceed  to  attack  him. 
Knowledge  is  power.  It  will  put  strength  into  your 
efforts  and  help  you  to  place  them  where  they  will  tell. 

C["~When  the  salesman  has  secured  a  hearing,  he 
miust  make  the  most  of  his  opportunity  and  put  his 
case  well.  He  must  hear  the  prospective  purchaser 
patiently,  and  answer  his  questions  fully.  If  objec- 
tions are  raised,  he  must  meet  them. 

(^"Industry. — The  habit  of  getting  at  it  quickly 
and  pegging  away  all  day  long,  without  stopping  to 
swap  yarns  or  talk  politics,  is  the  saving  grace  that 
makes  millionaires  and  winners  out  of  ordinary  men. 
When  added  to  talent,  the  combination  gets  pretty 
near  to  genius,  and  commands  its  reward.  There  is 
a  whole  cyclopedia  of  wisdom  in  the  terse  admonition, 
'Follow  the  rules  and  plug.' 

Q"  System. — Doing  things  in  the  way  that  is 
most  economical  of  time,  effort  and  money,  multiplies 
a  salesman's  effectiveness  many  fold.  It  prevents  much 
waste  of  energy.  The  Spanish  fleet  at  Santiago  had 
courage,  weight  and  speed  and  threw  metal  enough  to 
have  sunk  our  whole  navy;  but  our  gunners  had  sys- 
tem. 


National  Cash  Register  Selling  Methods        219 

Q'No  need  of  genius. — There  is  no  secret  or 
mystery  about  selling  our  Registers.  It  only  requires 
hard  work  sensibly  directed.  Any  man  can  sell  them 
if  he  is  in  earnest,  uses  common  sense  and  makes  the 
most  of  his  opportunities. 

Q^When  the  clock  strikes  three,  each  stroke  is 
as  full  and  complete  as  when  it  strikes  twelve.  When 
you  undertake  a  small  matter,  give  it  the  same  good 
attention  you  would  a  larger  matter. 

C^'Why  some  salesmen  fail. — It  is  often  difficult 
to  analyze  the  personal  qualities  and  methods  which 
make  one  salesman  successful  and  another  a  failure. 

C[l.  "A  salesman  may  fail  from  lack  of  tact  in 
introducing  himself. 

Q2.  "He  may  fail  if  he  is  slovenly  and  careless 
in  his  dress  and  habits,  because  this  leads  other  men 
to  suspect  that  he  is  not  prosperous  and  does  not 
represent  a  first-class  concern. 

CT3.  "He  may  fail  because  he  does  not  answer 
the  prospective  purchaser's  questions  and  objections 
intelligently,  concisely  and  without  too  much  detail. 

Q4.  "He  may  fail  if  he  speaks  indistinctly,  or 
too  rapidly,  or  if  he  lacks  animation  and  earnestness. 

C£5.  "He  may  fail  because  he  indulges  in  un- 
gentlemanly,  awkward  expressions  and  gestures,  or  of- 
fends the  prospective  purchaser  by  undue  familiarity. 

C[6.     "He  may  fail  for  lack  of  dignity. 

(T7.  "He  may  fail  because  he  gives  an  indis- 
creet answer  to  the  prospective  purchaser's  question. 

C[8.  "He  may  fail  because  he  does  not  fully  un- 
derstand the  Register  himself,  or  cannot  describe  it  in 
suitable  language. 

C£9.  "He  may  fail  for  lack  of  knowledge  of  the 
prospective  purchaser's  business,  and  the  way  in  which 
our  Registers  would  help  him. 


220          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

Q10.  "He  may  fail  by  neglecting  to  do  or  say 
one  or  more  of  a  hundred  different  things  in  the  right 
way.  Also  by  doing  or  saying  a  thing  at  the  wrong 
time,  in  the  wrong  way. 

C£"^  satisfied  user  the  best  advertisement. — Prob- 
ably there  is  no  other  mistake  which  good  salesmen  make 
so  much  as  the  failure  to  get  all  the  advantages  out 
of  a  sale  once  made.  Even  good  salesmen  are  apt  to 
think  when  a  contract  is  once  signed  that  that  is  the 
end  of  the  profit  for  them  in  that  direction.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  there  is  no  other  assistance  which  a 
salesman  can  turn  to  his  account  which  is  so  valuable 
as  the  good  will  of  a  satisfied  customer.  It  is,  if  pro- 
perly used,  a  perpetual  standing  advertisement  right 
in  the  locality  where  he  needs  it  most. 

C£"We  do  not  advise  salesmen  to  introduce  them- 
selves by  sending  in  a  card,  but  prefer  that  they 
should  depend  wholly  upon  what  they  are  able  to  say  to 
secure  a  hearing.  "We  strongly  disapprove  of  all  ob- 
scure introductions  and  all  tricks,  and  believe  that  a 
man  who  has  something  worth  saying,  and  is  not 
ashamed  of  his  business,  can  make  known  his  errand 
in  a  bold  straightforward  manner. 

{^"Have  a  fixed  idea. — A  salesman  should  adapt 
himself  to  his  man,  but  at  the  same  time  he  should 
have  a  fixed  idea  of  what  he  has  to  say.  He  should 
be  dignified  and  earnest. 

Q"A  merchant  should  never  be  approached  the 
first  time  with  a  funny  story  or  an  attempt  at  wit.  The 
first  impression  should  be  that  the  salesman  sets  a  dis- 
tinct value  upon  both  his  own  time  and  the  storekeep- 
er's; that  he  has  something  of  importance  to  say  and 
does  not  intend  to  trifle  about  it. 

Q"You  must  not  proceed  on  the  theory  that  store- 
keepers usually  know  what  their  own  best  interests 


National  Cash  Register  Selling  Methods        221 

are.  They  don't.  No  man  always  does.  The  majority 
of  men  are  going  contrary  to  their  best  interests 
every  day.  They  seem  to  be  almost  willfully  blind  to 
the  things  that  would  help  them  and  make  them  bet- 
ter off. 

Q"  Gaining  a  hearing. — The  first  point  in  ap- 
proaching a  prospective  purchaser  is  to  look  like  a  gen- 
tleman, act  like  a  man  and  make  him  listen  to  you. 

Q"  Enough  importance  has  not  been  attached  to 
the  value  of  proper  approach.  So  many  times  we  hear 
it  said  by  an  agent  that  he  never  knows  what  he  is 
going  to  talk  about  when  he  enters  a  man's  store  until 
he  meets  the  proprietor.  We  trust  too  much  to  catch- 
as-catch-can  methods  in  approaching.  You  ought  to 
have  a  point  in  view  when  you  enter  a  store,  so  as  to 
get  to  the  point  quickly.  The  first  thing  after  the  in- 
troduction is  to  impress  the  merchant  as  to  just  what 
you  are  there  for. 

Q"  Getting  at  the  proprietor. — After  making  as 
thorough  an  investigation  as  possible,  you  should  go 
directly  to  the  proprietor,  and  say,  'Is  this  Mr.  John- 
son?' Mention  the  name.  Don't  say,  'Is  this  the  pro- 
prietor?' If  it  should  be  a  clerk,  he  will  be  flattered 
by  being  mistaken  for  the  proprietor. 

(^"Getting  the  attention. — Do  not  attempt  to  talk 
to  a  man  who  is  not  listening,  who  is  writing  a  letter 
or  occupying  himself  in  another  way  while  you  are 
talking.  That's  useless,  and  is  a  loss  of  self-respect  and 
of  his  respect.  If  he  cannot  give  you  his  attention,  say 
to  him,  'I  see  you  are  busy.  If  you  can  give  me  your 
attention  for  a  few  minutes  I  shall  be  pleased;  but  I 
don't  want  to  interrupt  you,  if  you  cannot  spare  the 
time  now.  I  will  call  again.' 

Q"Try  to  understand  and  feel  thoroughly  the  dis- 
tinction between  confidence  and  familiarity.  Never  fail 


222          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

in  respect  either  to  yourself  or  to  the  man  with  whom 
you  are  talking.  Never  be  familiar  with  him.  Never 
put  your  hand  on  his  shoulder  or  on  his  arm,  nor  take 
hold  of  his  coat.  Such  things  are  repugnant  to  a  gen- 
tleman— and  you  should  assume  that  he  is  one. 

Q"  Never  pound  the  desk  or  shake  your  finger  at 
a  prospective  purchaser.  Don't  shout  at  him  as  if 
sound  would  take  the  place  of  sense.  Don't  advance 
toward  him  and  talk  so  excitedly  under  his  nose  that 
he  will  back  away  from  you  for  fear  of  being  run  over, 
as  if  you  were  a  trolley  car.  One  sales  agent  backed 
a  prospective  purchaser  half  way  across  the  room  in 
this  way. 

Q" Don't  compel  a  man  to  listen  to  you  by  loud 
or  fast  talking.  Don't  make  him  feel  that  he  can't 
get  a  word  in  edge-ways  and  has  to  listen  until  you 
are  out  of  breath.  This  is  not  the  sort  of  compulsion 
that  makes  customers.  But  make  him  believe  that  you 
have  something  to  say  and  will  say  it  quickly. 

C£"Put  yourself  in  his  place  from  the  very  start. 
Make  him  feel,  not  that  you  are  trying  to  force  your 
business  upon  him,  but  that  you  want  to  discuss  how 
his  business  may  be  benefited  by  you. 

Q"The  instant  a  prospective  purchaser  shows 
a  readiness  to  listen,  give  him  your  story  in  a  nutshell. 
Don't  make  a  long  preamble.  Don't  waste  a  lot  of 
words  saying,  'If  you  will  only  listen  to  me  I  will 
tell  you  this,'  or  'If  you  will  free  your  mind  of  preju- 
dice I  will  explain  that,'  or  'If  you  will  only  give  me 
your  attention  for  a  few  moments,  I  propose  to 
tell  you  the  other.'  Don't  propose,  but  tell  him. 

C["  Convincing  a  man  that  he  needs  help  is  nine- 
tenths  of  the  battle.  If  you  were  trying  to  sell  a  con- 
sumptive cure,  there  would  be  no  use  in  telling  how 
wonderfully  effective  it  is  to  a  man  who  doesn't  be- 


National  Cash  Register  Selling  Methods        223 

lieve  he  has  consumption.  Your  first  effort  must  be 
directed  to  pointing  out  the  prospective  purchaser's 
complaint.  Unless  he  sees  this,  he  isn't  ready  for  the 
remedy. 

Meeting  Objections. 

Q" Objections  and  meeting  them. — 'I  can't  afford 
to  buy  a  Eegister  as  I  have  a  good  system  already.' 

C£"  'You  can  afford  a  thing  that  pays  a  good 
profit,  can't  you?  If  this  Register  is  only  an  expense 
and  doesn't  pay  you  a  profit,  you  don't  want  it.  You 
can't  afford  to  have  any  useless  expense  in  your  busi- 
ness. On  the  other  hand,  if  it  will  be  a  profitable, 
money  making  investment,  you  want  to  look  into  it 
just  as  much  as  I  want  to  have  you  do  so. 

C£"  'If  I  were  trying  to  sell  you  a  class  of  goods 
that  you  had  never  sold  in  your  store,  and  showed 
you  how  one  million  merchants  were  making  more 
money  out  of  them  than  out  of  any  other  goods  in 
their  store,  you  wouldn't  say,  without  looking  at  the 
goods,  'I  can't  afford  them.'  You  would  be  glad  to 
come  up  to  the  hotel  to  look  at  them  and  see  what 
they  were. 

C["If  one  million  merchants  have  found  this 
Register  to  be  a  money  saving  investment,  there  must 
be  something  in  it  worth  investigating,  and  you  can't 
afford  as  a  business  man  to  turn  it  down,  without  at 
least  looking  into  it  and  deciding  for  yourself. ' 

0[" Prospective  purchaser:  'My  father  made  money 
before  me.' 

Q"  'True,  but  did  he  have  the  competition  then 
that  you  have  now  ?  Were  goods  sold  on  such  small  mar- 
gins? In  these  days  of  sharp  competition,  you  must 


224          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

be  more  up-to-date  than  your  competitor  or  you  fall 
behind  in  the  race.' 

Q" Prospective  purchaser:  'No,  I  can't  go  to-day; 
I  am  too  busy.'  'That  may  be  true.  If  so,  I  shall 
be  pleased  to  make  another  appointment  with  you.  But 
unless  your  work  is  .unusually  urgent  and  important, 
allow  me  to  suggest  that  if  I  were  selling  you  a  line 
of  merchandise  which  you  could  examine  and  purchase 
at  once,  and  sell  at  a  sure  profit,  then  you  would  make 
arrangements  to  examine  or  purchase  without  delay. 
You  would  do  so  because  you  are  here  to  make  money, 
all  you  can  legitimately,  and  you  would  feel  you  were 
doing  yourself  an  injustice,  especially  if  numerous  mer- 
chants in  your  line  were  handling  my  line  at  a  nice 
profit.  You  simply  cannot  afford  to  drop  out  of  the 
procession  and  leave  the  field  to  your  rivals.' 

C["  'Nowadays,  if  you  want  to  make  more  than  a 
fair  living,  you  have  to  be  brighter  than  your  neighbors. 
You  have  to  be  ready  to  accept  new  ideas  and  make 
the  most  of  everything  good  that  is  offered  to  you. 
It  is  just  as  unreasonable  to  stick  to  the  old  ways  simply 
because  you  are  used  to  them,  when  new  ways  would 
bring  you  better  results,  as  it  is  to  climb  ten  flights 
of  stairs  when  you  might  be  carried  up  in  an  elevator, 
or  to  swim  away  from  a  life  preserver  when  you  are 
nearly  exhausted,  just  to  show  that  you  are  able  to 
swim  alone  even  if  you  do  drown  for  it.' 

<J"  'I'll  get  along  all  right.'  'It  isn't  a  matter 
of  getting  along.  You  ought  to  let  your  competitor 
get  along.  You  ought  to  be  ambitious  to  get  ahead.'  ' 

CJSome  men  look  at  an  idea  to  see  how  they  can 
get  along  without  it.  Others  look  at  it  to  see  how  they 
can  apply  it  to  their  business.  The  latter  are  the  ones 
who  are  preparing  to  enlarge  their  business. 


National  Cash  Register  Setting  Methods        225 

Approach  Don'ts. 

Q" Don't  disparage  the  prospective  purchaser's 
opinion  or  methods.  It  is  better  to  keep  him  on  good 
terms  with  himself. 

C[" Don't  antagonize  him.  Approach  him  in  a 
friendly,  agreeable  manner.  Act  as  if  you  know  you 
are  going  to  get  on  with  him  all  right. 

Q" Don't  take  an  argumentative  attitude,  but 
don't  fail  to  have  your  arguments  at  hand  in  case  of 
need.  It  is  a  trait  of  great  men  worth  imitating  to 
seem  to  be  going  along  with  the  other  fellow  while 
you  are  really  making  him  come  your  way. 

C[" Don't  assume  to  know  more  about  his  busi- 
ness than  he  himself  does,  for  you  cannot  make  him 
believe  it. 

C[" Don't  tease  him  to  go  and  see  the  Register. 
When  a  salesman  begins  to  beg,  it  is  evident  that  he 
has  no  more  arguments  to  present. 

Q" Don't  flatter.  Sincerity  in  business  is  as  com- 
mendable as  sincerity  in  religion. 

Q" Don't  put  on  a  civil  and  formal  politeness, 
which  is  not  natural. 

C[" Don't  trust  to  persuasion  alone  to  land  your 
prospective  purchaser.  Convince  him.  Persuasion  is 
the  soft  glove;  conviction  is  the  iron  hand  underneath. 
Let  your  manner  be  as  conciliatory  as  possible,  but  put 
into  your  arguments  a  firm  grip  of  conviction  so  that 
he  cannot  get  away  from  you. 

C£" Don't  dodge  a  question  or  objection.  Answer 
it  fairly  and  squarely. 

Q" Don't  talk  for  the  sake  of  talking.  Say  some- 
thing. 

<J"  Don't  talk  all  the  time.  Give  the  prospective 
purchaser  a  chance.  When  he  opens  his  mouth  to 


226          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

make  an  objection,  let  him  make  it.  It  is  better  out 
and  answered  than  sticking  in  his  mind. 

Q" Don't  forget  that  all  men  have  certain  common 
ideas  which  can  be  answered  by  the  same  argument. 

C[" Don't  forget  that  every  man  has  his  own  pe- 
culiarities which  should  be  met  in  a  different  way. 

Q"You  start  the  argument.  Lead  your  prospect- 
ive purchaser,  then  when  he  talks,  get  in  your  convic- 
tion. 

Q" Don't  underestimate  your  difficulties.  Don't 
overestimate  them.  Don't  think  you  are  up  against  an 
impossible  proposition. 

C£"  Don't  be  a  quitter.  Never  say:  'This  is  too 
tough  a  proposition  for  me.'  It  is  a  mistake  to  say, 
'It  cannot  be  done.'  The  right  thing  to  say  is,  'This 
may  be  a  hard  nut  to  crack,  but  there  is  a  way  to  do 
it.  I  '11  keep  at  it  with  courage  and  patience  and  do  it. ' 

Q"  Learn  to  size  up  your  man,  his  peculiarities 
and  moods.  All  men  like  honesty,  politeness  and  earn- 
estness. All  men  admire  persistence.  Most  men  want 
facts. 

(£"Nine  times  out  of  ten,  you  can  bank  on  facts 
to  fetch  your  man.  Make  them  as  clear  as  glass,  strong 
and  few.  Don't  bewilder  a  man  with  a  mass  of  trif- 
ling facts.  Tie  to  a  few  important  points,  drive  them 
in  and  clinch  them,  but  tell  him  what  he  needs  to 
know.  If  a  trifle  will  close  him,  it's  no  trifle. 

C£"A  few  men  can  be  driven;  the  majority  must 
be  led.  Look  him  in  the  eyes  steadily  and  friendly. 
Learn  to  read  the  expression  in  a  man's  face  which 
says,  'Almost  persuaded,'  and  the  other  which  says, 
'Hang  the  fellow!  I  wish  he  were  in  Hades!'  Act  ac- 
cordingly. 

Q"Some  men  like  a  little  oratory  or  spice  of 
humor,  but  that  is  dangerous  ground.  Beware  of  the 


National  Cash  Register  Selling  Methods        227 

man  who  smiles  and  nods  and  never  buys.  Put  your 
trust  in  earnestness,  candor  and  facts. 

Q"  Speak  deliberately.  If  you  see  from  a  puzzled 
or  doubtful  look  on  his  face  that  some  point  is  not 
quite  plain  to  him,  stop  and  make  it  plain.  Take  time 
enough  to  stop  and  explain  each  point  thoroughly. 
"Whenever  you  make  a  statement  that  is  open  to  ques- 
tion, be  sure  to  get  his  assent  to  it  before  you  proceed. 
If  he  will  not  assent  to  it  exactly  as  you  make  it,  modify 
it  until  he  does.  Get  him  to  assent  in  some  degree 
to  every  proposition  you  make,  so  that  when  you  get 
to  the  general  result  he  cannot  go  back  and  disagree 
with  you.  Don't  do  this,  however,  as  if  you  were  try- 
ing to  corner  him,  but  with  a  simple  desire  to  reach 
a  reasonable  basis  of  argument. 

C£"You  should  be  just  as  sincere  about  it  as  if 
you  were  a  clergyman  preaching  the  gospel.  If  you 
go  at  it  in  this  sincere  spirit,  the  prospective  pur- 
chaser will  feel  the  importance  of  what  you  say  and 
it  will  carry  its  due  weight. 

C["It  is  a  simple  proposition  that  if  a  thing  will 
save  him  money  every  day,  the  quicker  he  gets  it  the 
more  it  will  save  him,  and  the  longer  he  delays  get- 
ting it  the  more  he  will  lose. 

Q"He  should  be  impressed  with  the  fact  that  a 
thing  which  pays  for  itself  is  never  an  expense;  that 
not  only  can  he  always  afford  a  thing  which  makes 
money  for  him,  but  he  cannot  afford  to  go  without 
it  a  single  day. 

Q" Prove  one  thing  at  a  time.  Don't  try  to  prove 
several  things  at  once.  The  average  mind  cannot 
think  of  several  things  at  once.  Prove  one  thing  at 
a  time  and  make  the  proof  of  that  one  thing  so  strong 
that  no  man  can  dodge  it.  If  needs  be,  use  fifty  argu- 
ments and  take  all  day  to  settle  that  one  question;. 


228          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 

but  settle  it  so  that  your  man  will  never  open  it 
again,  even  in  his  own  mind. 

Q" Settle  each  point  thoroughly.  Don't  fire  your 
arguments  along  too  fast;  fire  a  good  one  into  him 
and  see  if  he  feels  it.  Let  it  sink  in.  If  it  isn't  enough, 
give  him  another — on  the  same  question  though.  Don't 
change  from  one  point  to  another  and  then  back  again. 
Stick  to  each  point  till  you  've  made  it ;  then  when  your 
man  is  convinced,  drop  it.  If  you  hammer  a  nail  after 
it  is  driven  home,  you  only  loosen  it. 

C£"Try  to  get  a  man's  mind  completely  satisfied 
and  convinced  of  the  logical  truth  of  what  you  say. 
That  is  vastly  better  than  merely  getting  him  to  say 
'yes'  to  it  when  a  doubt  lingers  in  his  mind.  'A  man 
convinced  against  his  will  is  of  the  same  opinion  still,' 
and  he  may  countermand  his  order. 

C£"  Weigh  every  word  or  phrase  that  may  possi- 
bly influence  a  prospective  purchaser.  The  value  of 
words  is  in  their  truth  or  aptness.  Have  them  ready, 
but  never  force  them  in  where  they  don't  belong.  If 
their  exact  value  is  well  fixed  in  your  mind,  you  can 
safely  trust  the  occasion  to  bring  them  out  spontane- 
ously. Then  they  will  have  double  value.  A  word 
fitly  spoken  is  a  keen  weapon. 

Demonstration  Don'ts. 

"Don't  mispronounce  words. 

"Don't  talk  too  fast. 

"Don't  speak  in  a  monotonous  tone. 

"Don't  speak  indistinctly. 

"Don't  pass  from  one  thing  to  another. 

"Don't  emphasize  too  strongly. 

41  Don't  fail  to  emphasize  important  points. 

4< Don't  seem  at  a  loss  for  something  to  say. 


National  Cash  Register  Setting  Methods        229' 

"Don't  fail  to  hold  prospective  purchaser's  inter- 
est while  calling  attention  to  good  points. 

' '  Don 't  repeat  as  from  memory. 

"Don't  fail  to  improve  the  first  opportunity  to- 
present  the  order. 

"Don't  refuse  to  break  off  in  your  demonstra- 
tion and  answer  the  prospective  purchaser's  questions.. 

"Don't  fail  to  stop  and  get  the  prospective  pur- 
chaser's assent  to  a  statement  that  is  open  to  question. 

"Don't  imagine,  because  the  prospective  purchaser 
listens  in  silence,  that  he  agrees  with  you,  or  even 
understands  all  you  say. 

"Don't  fail  to  draw  out  the  prospective  purchaser's 
objections. 

"Don't  present  your  arguments  in  a  cut  and  dried 
style. 

"Don't  try  to  be  magnetic  or  eloquent. 

"Don't  fill  up  your  mind  with  words  or  phrases,, 
but  with  ideas. 

"Don't  try  to  impress  the  prospective  purchaser 
with  what  a  fine  talker  you  are. 

"Don't  fail  at  the  critical  moment,  when  the  pros- 
pective purchaser  is  hesitating,  to  follow  him  up  and 
land  the  decisive  blow. 

Closing  Arguments. 

C["The  whole  art  of  salesmanship  is  summed  up 
in  the  four  words:  'Getting  the  order  signed.'  Your 
approach  may  be  perfect,  your  demonstration  clear  and 
well  made,  but  if  you  cannot  put  a  climax  upon  the 
presentation  of  your  case  by  bringing  up  unanswerable 
closing  arguments,  your  efforts  have  been  useless  and 
your  time  lost. 


230          Salesmanship  and  Business  Efficiency 


time  has  come  for  him  to  put  his  name 
to  the  order.  If  necessary,  fill  out  two  or  three  blanks 
before  he  arrives,  if  you  are  in  doubt  as  to  which 
Register  he  will  buy.  You  are  then  prepared  to  pre- 
sent an  order,  ready  for  signature,  with  perhaps  the 
change  of  but  a  few  words. 

C£"  Sometimes  a  prospective  purchaser  who  seems 
.almost  persuaded  appears  to  be  suddenly  overwhelmed 
by  the  price.  That  will  stand  up  before  his  mind's 
eye  to  the  exclusion  of  everything  else.  It  is  a  good 
idea  to  put  the  question  to  such  a  man  in  a  way  some- 
thing like  this: 

Q"  'Mr.  Blank,  when  you  open  your  ledger  to  a 
certain  account,  you  look  at  both  sides  of  it.  You 
strike  a  balance  and  if  that  balance  is  in  your  favor, 
that  is  all  you  care  about.  You  don't  look  merely 
at  the  expense  charged  to  any  account  and  say,  'This 
is  tremendous.  I  can't  afford  it.'  You  look  to  see 
whether  that  expense  is  bringing  you  in  a  profit.  If 
it  is  doing  that  in  a  good  measure  every  month,  and 
every  year,  you  are  satisfied.  "While  you  do  not  want 
to  spend  a  single  dollar  that  is  not  going  to  bring  back 
a  dollar,  you  would  just  as  soon  spend  a  thousand 
dollars  a  minute  if  each  thousand  would  bring  you  back 
a  thousand  dollars  and  more.  It  isn't  a  question  of 
how  much  money  you  put  out  for  anything.  The  real 
question  is,  what  does  it  bring  in  over  and  above  what 
you  put  out  for  it  ? 

Q"  'Two  hundred  dollars  is  a  good  deal  of  money, 
as  you  say;  but  if  this  Register  is  going  to  wipe  out 
its  own  cost  while  you  are  paying  for  it,  and  then 
pay  a  continual  profit  in  excess  of  the  outlay,  you  are 
a  gainer  by  the  transaction.  Look  at  this  question  just 
as  you  would  at  a  ledger  account  —  debit  on  one  side, 


National  Cash  Register  Selling  Methods        231 

credit  on  the  other.  You'll  see  that  this  isn't  an  ex- 
pense at  all,  but  an  investment,  and  a  paying  one. 

Q"  'It  is  not  what  the  Register  costs  that  you 
should  consider,  but  how  much  money  it  costs  you 
each  year  to  be  without  one. 

C["  'Our  company  has  spent  thirty  years — half  a 
business  lifetime,  and  more,  perfecting  this  machine. 
This  Register  you  see  before  you  represents  an  outlay 
of  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars.  This  one  machine 
could  not  have  been  made  without  putting  out  that 
capital.  It  also  represents  all  these  years  of  hard 
work,  costly  experimenting,  and  the  taking  of  all  the 
business  risks  which  a  manufacturer  of  a  new  thing 
must  take.  Do  not  look  at  it  as  so  much  metal.  What 
it  will  accomplish — that  is  the  point;  and  that  repre- 
sents brains,  labor,  study,  experience  and  commercial 
courage,  all  of  which  are  expensive. 

C["  'You  ask  too  much  money  for  that  machine.' 
'When  you  bought  your  insurance  you  did  not  buy  the 
paper  the  policy  was  written  on,  but  you  bought  the 
protection  it  was  to  give  you. 


Suggestive  Written  Exercise 

When  I  was  with  the  National  Cash  Register  Com- 
pany, their  average  salesman  was  making  seven  thous- 
and dollars  a  year.  Write  an  article  indicating  the 
qualifications  which  such  a  man  must  have. 


Investigate  the  Science  of  Applied 
Salesmanship. 

For  an  exhaustive  study  of  this  great  subject  which 
includes  Advertising,  Business  Letter  Writing,  Business 
Management,  Insurance,  Credits,  Collections  and  the 
Science  of  Business,  write  to  the  Knox  School  of  Ap- 
plied Salesmanship,  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  for  complete 
information. 

Every  student  of  this  volume  witt  ~be  entitled  to 
a  special  price  on  the  complete  course. 


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